Fire Emblem Awakening: Origins
by excalibur787
Summary: A retelling of the beginning of Fire Emblem Awakening. Hopefully, a little more detail will be shed upon character interactions. Will follow the story, but with minor deviations from the script provided.
1. Origins

**A/N: This is my first attempt at writing anything creative (or anything that's not an essay for a class). I suppose that Awakening has just sparked my interest, and I'm looking to** **try my hand out at something new. Please feel free to review and give me tips on what could be better. I really appreciate constructive criticism! Rated T just in case. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. I also don't own the picture.**

Robin breathed in deeply through his nose and out through his mouth. He always hated Grimleal temples. They always smelled of darkness, despair, and pain. His father taught all Grimleal that such suffering was the state of all mortals, and that was why mortals were to be destroyed. The only release they were capable of feeling was the sweet oblivion that death granted. Perhaps that was why his mother had stolen him away. So that he wouldn't ever become like his father. Despite knowing that his father represented such evil and was one of the greatest dangers their modern world faced, Robin still felt a pang of sadness whenever he thought of him. It reminded him that the only bond his father felt to him was as a weapon to be used against the family he created for himself. Regardless of what he had lost, he had gained so much, and it was all thanks to the man continuing to stand beside him.

Chrom had taken him in when no one else would and trusted him despite having no reason to. Despite the suspiciousness of his request, Robin was allowed to serve as both a soldier and a tactician in his personal guard despite his Plegian heritage after he had proven his proficiency in both. Most of the Ylissians were suspicious of him at first, but he couldn't blame them. After all his country had committed numerous atrocities against Ylisse. He finally managed to prove himself to the Ylissian people during the Ylisse-Plegia War. The long struggle took a brutal toll it took on both sides, but at the end, Ylisse and all her citizens trusted Robin as their Grandmaster. After all, he had saved them from the threat of the Mad King Gangrel and his fierce armies, with only two failings to his name. He had allowed the exalt Emmeryn to fall to an assassin's plot, and he had allowed Chrom, his benefactor, to be gravely injured. Robin believed these early failings dragged the war out, causing much more death and destruction than necessary. Nevertheless, Ylisse and all her citizens were grateful to Robin for his genius. They were convinced that the outcome would have been far worse if not for his intervention. However, Robin understood none of this, and continued to feel an enourmous amount of shame in his failures as Grandmaster. He didn't even feel it his right to call himself a Shepherd. No one could convince him otherwise. He also had attempted to distance himself from the others, almost as if he believed that his failure was contagious. The others didn't allow this though, as he always provided aid whenever called upon, no matter what the need was. Chrom was the only person he fully let in. They approached the world very differently, but Robin felt that it was his duty to allow Chrom to fully understand the mental state of his most trusted advisor. This way, Chrom could understand his perspective and correct for failings that Robin himself may not have seen.

The unusual connection he had created between himself and those under his command was the result of his unconventional policy centered on his theory that forging strong connections between members of a fighting force would both aid in motivation to fight and allow for superior teamwork between members. This allowed them to unite together and defeat much larger, seemingly more powerful groups. However, the only exception to this rule seemed to be him. He was quite unwilling to accept their offers of friendship, as he felt it undeserved after all the tragedy he and his country had put them and Ylisse through. Nevertheless, all the Shepherds still considered him very close. As time marched on, they continued to grow closer to one another, eventually marrying and having children. This further connected their community through the next generation, and this event even succeeded in drawing Robin a little closer to them. However, he kept them all at an arm's length, feeling unable to connect to any of them. Despite this, he was always willing to instruct, mentor, and supervise the children for his friends, making him quite the popular "uncle" with the little ones.

Perhaps these connections were the reason why they were all willing to follow him yet again into the jaws of death, this time personified by the Valmese army led by Walhart the Conqueror. Again, he was able to pull off the impossible and defeat a seemingly superior force with only one loss this time: Basilio, the West Khan of Ferox. This further fueled Robin's insecurities, but he was given very little time before the Shepherds were called upon once again to save the world. They, in turn, called upon him once again to guide them through finally stopping the Grimleal threat once and for all.

Remembering himself, he checked his numerous pockets in his cloak. He came equipped with a Thoron tome and a silver sword. Glancing over at Chrom, he felt surprise at seeing him wield a standard silver sword, the same as the one he was using. However, he remembered that it was his idea to protect the Falchion, Chrom's personal sword and one of Ylisse's national treasures, from theft by the Plegians. While they were marching into battle, it would do well for the sword to be kept safe back in Ylisstol. It, along with the Fire Emblem, were the tools that could be used to slay Grima. As they had alrealy lost the Fire Emblem to Plegia, it would be better if they kept the remaining artifact safe if their little gamble to stop Grima before he rose didn't pay off.

"Are you ready?" Chrom asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Robin, with a small smirk on his face.

"This is it. Our final battle. Are you ready to finally face Validar?"

"We would do well to be wary of my father. My mother kept me hidden from him for a reason. I may be incapable of such a feat alone, but with you by my side, perhaps this will change," Robin advised as he pulled his hood up. While he preferred fighting with it down to better survey the battlefield, he wished to conceal his face this time. Whether it was to hide his intentions during fighting, or to hide his fear from both Chrom and his father, he was unable to say.

"You know you're truly one of us, right? Nothing can change that. Now let's finish this!"

Robin took a deep breath in, felt the energy of lightning coursing through his body before blasting the door to the altar into splinters with a Thoron spell. Immediately, Chrom charged in, drawing his sword with Robin closely following him. As soon as they began to approach the Plegian King, a dark magic barrier stronger than anything Robin had seen cut them off from the rest of the room.

"I just said to be careful, Chrom! How is this careful?" exclaimed Robin.

"Perhaps you should have added 'lucky' to the mix, son," sneered Validar. The disfigured man stood above them on the altar, surrounded by a purple aura. "For luck will need to be on your side if you two mortals think you can challenge the power of a god!"

"He's not wrong, you know. A little bit of luck never hurts, Robin,"

"Oh, shut up. Is this really the time? Before we came in, you gave me the 'this ends here' speech!"

"Die!" screeched Validar, as his purple aura erupted into multiple beams of darkness, destroying everything in its path.

Having fought beside Chrom for so long, Robin was able to predict Chrom's decisions just as well as he could his own. They split up, with Chrom charging Validar, while he backed off and started firing Thoron spells at Validar to cover him. Initially overwhelmed by their combined assault, Validar teleported away, and fired a blast of dark magic at Chrom, causing him to collapse. Robin immediately drew his own silver sword, and charged in, hoping to distract Validar, allowing Chrom to recover. Using his own defensive form of magic, Validar was able to fend off Robin's strikes, but quickly teleported away again to get a clear shot at Chrom. However, Chrom was already on his feet, dodging his attacks and jumping to create more power for a downward strike, trying to break through Validar's magical guard. This unbalanced Validar, allowing Robin to strike him with a Thoron bolt, stunning him. Chrom immediately stabbed him through the chest, which caused him to scream with pain and being to glow with an unearthly purple light.

"Get back, Chrom!" screamed Robin as he tackled Chrom away from Validar's corpse as it erupted in purple flames. Robin stood up and offered his hand to Chrom. He took it, clapped Robin on the back and began to chuckle.

"You know, he wasn't nearly as skilled as we feared. I'm glad he turned out to be all talk. Looks like we carried the day again, thanks to you!"

"It's not over!" screamed Validar as he lifted himself off the ground. He shot one final blast of purple energy at Chrom. Robin quickly pushed him out of the way once more, but took the blast himself as he was unable to gain the momentum he acquired earlier. His vision went dark as the magic took effect and pain erupted throughout his entire body. Disoriented, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as he hit the floor. Eventually, his vision cleared up and he took Chrom's hand, his body still aching from the magic.

"Are you okay?" Chrom inquired.

Robin tried to acknowledge that he was fine, but found that he was unable to speak. As he attempted to at least sign that he was okay, his vision turned red, and his head felt like it was splitting open. A frigid fear gripped his heart, as he realized that he had lost control. He hated this sensation: the one that reminded him that he wasn't always the one in control.

"Robin?" Chrom asked once again.

Even though Robin knew that Validar could control his actions, he decided to fight him anyway with Chrom by his side. He was always more calm, effective, and even happy with Chrom at his side, pouring in his unconditional support. They both knew that he was the intended vessel for Grima, which gave Validar an even greater hold on him. However, their plan was to quickly overwhelm and defeat Validar, so that he would have to choose between defending himself and controlling Robin. With Validar dead, Robin expected that his actions would finally be his own. As they were clearly not, Validar must still be alive and controlling him, and as Chrom thought Validar dead, he wouldn't be expecting an attack from his partner.

Robin strained all he could both mentally and physically to break free of the prison inside his head so he could warn Chrom, but he failed once again. He could feel the energy of the lighting gathering in his right hand, unbidden. After what felt like an eternity, he felt himself stab Chrom in the chest with a dagger of lightning.

Chrom's eyes widened in pain and surprise. Robin feared the instant when that look turned to hatred and betrayal, but it instead turned to forgiveness and sympathy. "It's not your fault," he groaned. In the throes of death, he expressed one last wish, "Just promise me you'll escape this place alive,"

He collapsed onto the cold stone floor, blood finally starting to pour out of him. All Robin could do was sand there, horrified, as his father rose, laughing maniacally at his misery. "See? Your bonds with these pathetic humans are nothing more than leaves in the wind. Power is all that matters, and becoming a god will prevent you from feeling such pain again. If you choose to go back to those foolish humans, they will blame you for the death of this one. Do you see how easily these bonds are broken? You will be alone again. But if you give your body to the master, you will never be alone again! He will make sure that you and no one will ever feel such pain again! He will even grant those filthy beings you call friends death's sweet embrace, a fate far more kind than they deserve. He will finally complete the cycle of destruction, and allow the world to be empty once more. After all, if existence is suffering and nonbeing is nothingness, which would you choose?"

Finally, Robin was allowed collapsed to his knees next to his best friend, with tears rolling down his cheeks, weeping openly. As he gazed as Chrom's corpse, he realized that he was truly unworthy of all of the support that Chrom had bestowed upon him. The sense of tragedy, loss, and shame was suddenly joined by a more powerful emotion that overrode his logical mind. He slowly realized who was responsible for this situation, and pure rage began to fill him. Even though tears still poured down his cheeks, he spoke with a chillingly still voice, "You speak as if you're not mortal. Are you no longer able to be killed?"

His father hesitated, before blustering arrogantly, "Of course I'm no longer mortal! Master Grima has granted me power beyond imagination. I am invincible! Perhaps if this pitiful one had brought that nasty magical sword of his instead of this ordinary one, I might have even been injured. However, nothing short of the Divine Dragon or her Voice could kill me now!"

Despite his bravado, Robin heard the faint quaver in his voice. He had managed to unnerve his father, one of the most powerful dark mages on the planet. Robin was convinced that there was another way he could be killed, and his sole mission from now on would be to find out how to and kill the dastard who had turned him into a cold-blooded killer, a traitor, and a monster. "You're lying. I just need to figure out how to kill you, but as soon as I do, you shall be destroyed."

As soon as he made this assertion, time seemingly stopped. Robin was unable to move, but so was everything and everyone else. A voice in his head began to speak. "I think I can help you with that."

Robin was familiar with telepathic conversation thanks to his father's interference, but he was certain that this voice was vaguely familiar to him. "Who are you? State your business!" Robin mentally replied.

A silhouette of a human appeared in his vision, emanating great magical power. "I am Grima, the deity your father was talking about. I can grant you the power to destroy him utterly. The power of a god."

"I will have nothing to do with you! You and your power killed Chrom! I will destroy Validar, but I will find another way. I swear it! And after I'm done with him, I'm coming for you!" Robin angrily tried to strike at the silhouette, but still found himself immobilized.

"Mmm. Foolish mortal. You blame Validar and me for this? Why, it is in our very nature to act as such. It was quite predictable that given the chance, we would kill Chrom. He stands in the way of our goals, and such obstacles must be removed. Surely you know something about clearing the path to your goals, being a tactician and all?"

"You aren't like me! You are absolutely nothing like me!" Robin attempted to channel magic once again to break his paralysis, but to no avail.

"Are we not? You fancy yourself a god among men, preserving life with one hand and taking it with the other. It is through your plans that such death and destruction is possible. Even I'm mildly impressed at your destructive potential for a puny mortal. The mass slaughter of Plegians and Valmese citizens and the numerous deaths of Ylissean soldiers were the cost of both advancing your goals."

Confused, Robin begain to stop struggling as fiercely. " But … But I try to save as many lives as I can …"

"Sure you do! You've led the Shepherds through three wars, and you only have the death of two friends on your list. But isn't that a little selfish though? I mean, the Shepherds would have been much more likely to come back from certain missions alive, but you delegated those tasks to other platoons because the risk of death was too high. You decided to send someone else's friend, brother, husband, and son to their deaths because you were too worried about the risks of losing one of your friends. All you've proven is that your personal loyalty blinds you and prevents you from being an unbiased commander. Again, you fancy yourself a god."

"That's not true … the Shepherds are an inspiration … they are the royal guard … they must have priority …"

"Hah! That's a laughable notion! It's their skill that qualifies them for the dangerous jobs, not the cushy ones that you've given them! And worst of all, you don't deserve people like them! They're willing to risk their lives for the kingdom, but you don't let them. They trusted you to help them make a difference, and all you've done is try to shelter them. You manipulate them and control them because it makes you feel powerful! You do it for your own pleasure! You and I are much more alike than you think."

"That's … that's not …" Robin finally stopped attempting to break free. He was too busy contemplating the surprising accuracy of Grima's words.

"Hey, I'm just grabbing at your thoughts! These are the hard truths that you've been hiding from for so long. But your illusion has finally shattered. They will realize they have been duped, and they'll abandon you. They'll hate you. You will be left alone to rot in a Ylissean prison cell. And how will you avenge your friend from there?"

Finally, Robin recognized the voice as one he had heard for years. It had been present for as long as he could remember, always making him second-guess his decisions. Apparently, it wasn't his own voice, but it still made many good points. "But … but you will take over my body. I know you'll just kill my friends if I let you in! How stupid do you think I am?"

"Hah! Clearly, you're more moronic than I realized. You think they're your friends? After this? I already told you, they HATE you! They'd love nothing more than to see you dead! You are already alone. And there's nothing you can do to change that. But do you know what's underneath all that anger? Betrayal and pain caused by your hand."

"N-n-no! That's not – that can't be…" Robin began to grow fearful of what he was hearing.

"This – all of this, is completely your fault! You failed to predict what would happen here! You failed to predict that assassination attempt that led to Emmeryn's death! You failed to properly allow these so-called friends of yours to grow! You failed Basilio when you sent him and his men off to their deaths! And now you've failed them for the last time! And you know what the best part is? All these connections you've made? All you've done is con people into believing in you! It probably hurts more because they were tricked into believing that you actually cared for them."

"But-but I do care-"

"No you don't! If you did, you would have found someone else much more competent than you to the job they all believed you could do, and walked straight out of their lives! It would have been far less painful for them that way."

Finally, Robin began to despair at the twisted truth that Grima was laying out before him. "Fault … my … all my fault…"

"That's right! And connections were the source of such pain. So if you truly care about these people, what's the only escape you can grant them?"

Robin knew what Grima wanted him to say. Robin didn't want to say it, but he was too lost in his hopelessness and despair. He was so tired of sorrow and causing pain no matter what he did. Grima practically dragged the word out of his mind, "Death…"

"That's right. And as my gift to you, you won't have to suffer any more either. I can grant you permanent oblivion right now if you want. Perhaps you can even see Chrom again. I wouldn't know, for I have never died."

Consumed by fear, despair, and hopelessness, Robin could no longer think straight anymore. Grima's power seemed to be the only solution to both his and the Shepherds' problems. After all, if life was full of nothing but pain and misery, what was the point of living? "... Very well."

And Robin knew no more.


	2. The Beginning

**Chapter 2: The Beginning**

 **A/N: Thank you for all the views and reviews! I'll admit, I had literally expected no one to read this when I started, so all your support is greatly appreciated! I'm not sure in what format I'm supposed to respond to reviews, if I am at all. Any guidance regarding this would be wonderful. And without further ado, I present you with the next installment in this series! Thanks for reading and have a great day!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own Fire Emblem**

There was an unpleasant buzzing in Robin's head. This continual sensation prevented him from drifting peacefully into the comfortable darkness once more. Robin found it quite irritating, as it was dragging him back to the land of the living. Slowly, the rest of his senses returned to him. He smelled the fresh scent meadow he was laying in, and he felt the soft grass beneath his back, tickling his hands. He could hear the buzzing of the animals in the field all around him, so full of life. Suddenly, a high-pitched voice shattered the calm both surrounding and within him, "Chrom, we have to do something."

In order to catch a glimpse of the individuals who were disturbing his peace, Robin attempted to open his eyes. He squeezed them shut immediately, for the light of the sun seemed to be intent on scorching his eyes.

He heard a deeper voice reply, "What do you propose we do?"

"I … I dunno …"

Braving the sun's rays, he squinted up at the people standing over him. As he suspected from their voices, a man and a woman were observing him with clear concern and curiosity. He was certain that he recognized the man from somewhere, but he wasn't quite sure from where. The man said, "I see you're awake now."

"Hey there!" exclaimed the woman.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know. Give me your hand," offered the man, while stretching out his own.

Robin took it with his right and glimpsed a peculiar purple marking on it. _Where did I get that? What does it mean?_ The man pulled Robin up so quickly that he felt quite dizzy upon rising. _And just how long was I lying there?_

"Are you okay?" the man inquired.

"I'm fine. Thanks Chrom." Robin replied, brushing himself off.

"Ah, so you know me then?"

Robin immediately froze mid-brush. _Wait, what? How did I know that? Who is he?_

"I … um… no? Your name just … came to me."

"Right then …" This Chrom arched an eyebrow, clearly confused. "How about yours? What brings you here?"

"I'm … um … huh?" _How do I not know my own name? Wait … just who am I?_

"You mean to tell me that you can't remember your own name?" Even though he was completely smothered in the panic created by his memory problem, Robin couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Chrom, for appeared to be just as baffled by this turn of events as Robin was.

"Hey, I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!" diagnosed the woman, or girl, as Robin now realized how young she appeared.

"It's called pegasus dung. Clearly, it's a bunch of lies craftily engineered by this individual with the intention of escaping some form of punishment," a tall, muscular man in blue armor gruffly asserted. Robin jumped in surprise, as he had noticed neither the man, nor his horse. While he could certainly understand how false his story must sound to them, there was nothing else he could say because he truly was a man without his past.

"But, it's the truth!" he protested, hoping to elicit some form of sympathy from the icy knight.

While his sincerity appeared to have no effect upon its intended target, Chrom appeared moved. "…What if it is true, Frederick? If we leave him here, alone and confused, he would almost certainly fall prey to bandits. What kind of Shepherds would be then?"

"Regardless milord, we ought to exercise some caution. Letting a wolf into our flock could have disastrous consequences."

"…Fair enough. We'll take him to Southtown and sort him out there."

Robin blinked a few times, for it appeared that his destiny had just been decided in a few moments without his input. Although he couldn't remember much of anything at this point, he was certain that he despised it when other people thought they had the right to make decisions for him and overrode his will, "Hold just a moment. Aren't I entitled to a say in this?"

Chrom glanced at him, amused at his irritation, "Peace, friend! I promise we will hear you out when we get back to town." He gestured for Robin to follow, and Robin saw no reason to question the kindness of these people, in spite of their misstep. As they began to walk, Robin experienced a warm sensation in his chest that took him a few minutes to name. However, once he identified that it was belonging, it only led to more questions. _Apparently, I feel some emotional connection to these people. Why? Have I met these people before? When? Where? Why?! Argh! There are too many questions and not enough answers_! He wanted to clutch his head to soothe the headache that his furious inquiry was generating, but he also didn't want to appear any more abnormal than he already did, at risk of agitating the clearly suspicious Frederick any further.

Robin quickly began to grow concerned as to his ultimate fate. While he certainly bore no ill will toward these people, it was quite impossible for them to know that. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if 'sort him out' meant 'put him in jail until he gives us the truth,' and if it did, he certainly wouldn't blame them for assuming the worst. However, he did also value his freedom, so he decided to take the direct approach, "What will happen when we get to this Southtown? Will I be your prisoner?"

"Hah! Nothing so drastic," chuckled Chrom. "We just need to establish you're no enemy to Ylisse. Once we do, you'll be free to go."

"Is that where we are? Ylisse? Just outside of Southtown?"

Frederick scoffed so loudly that Robin nearly mistook it for a cough, "You've never heard of the halidom? Ha! You're quite the actor, aren't you? You play quite the fool! The furrowed brow is quite convincing, though slightly exaggerated …"

Indignant, Robin opened his mouth to reply, but Chrom cut across him, "Frederick, please stop antagonizing him! If he isn't our foe, your comments may yet turn him against us."

He turned back to Robin, "Yes, this is the land known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our monarch, Emmeryn, is known as the exalt. I suppose that proper introductions are in order as well … my name is Chrom, but you already knew that. The delicate one is my little sister, Lissa."

"I am NOT delicate! Please ignore my brother. He can be hopelessly dense sometimes. But you really are lucky that the Shepherds found you first! Brigands would have made quite the rude awakening."

Robin frowned, "You all are shepherds? As in, you tend sheep? In full armor and armed to the teeth?"

Chrom flashed him a grin, "It's more dangerous than you might think! Just ask Frederick the Wary over here," gesturing with his thumb toward his imposing ally.

Exasperated, Frederick rolled his eyes, "Gods forbid one of us maintains the proper amount of caution here. I have every desire to trust you stranger, but my title and station mandate otherwise."

Robin shook his head, convinced that he was missing something, but as no one offered any further explanations, he was content to let the matter rest for the time being. He felt as if he needed to offer something as they had all shared a bit about themselves, although some (such as a particular mounted knight) appeared to be pressured into it. Robin felt a sharp pain in his head that made his eyes water, but he replied, "It is good to meet you all. My name is Robin." It took him a few seconds to realize what he had just said, "Huh. Well, I suppose that's one mystery solved!" he proclaimed with a smile. Enthusiastic about his new discovery, he began to further probe his mind, but became quickly lost in the fog that he had begun to associate with his amnesia.

He was so frustrated with himself that he nearly missed Chrom's next question, "Robin? Is that foreign?"

Robin, pulled back into the conversation, was about to remind Chrom of his ignorance of the past when Lissa exclaimed, "Chrom! Look! The town!"

They all turned towards the direction they were walking, or in Frederick's case riding, towards, and immediately saw smoke. Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa all rushed to higher ground to get a better view, and Robin scrambled behind them. Upon seeing the town, Robin was horrified at the violence the town was experiencing. Many of the buildings were burning, and he could hear the villagers screaming for help. However, he was sickened to hear laughing, cheering, and jeering mixed in with the sounds of pain, fear, and anguish.

"Brigands!" Chrom cursed, and commanded, "Lissa, Frederick! On me!"

"What about Robin?" Frederick asked.

"Unless he's on fire as well, he can wait!"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Robin was shocked to see Frederick actually smirk, "Aptly put, milord."

Robin, overwhelmed by the new developments, asked, "Wait! What about me?"

Unfortunately, his new caretakers, for he wasn't sure whether they considered him a friend or not, ignored him, apparently deeming the villagers needs more important than sorting him out. As they rushed to aid the villagers through their plight, Robin stood and pondered his next move. _If I run, I won't be guaranteed safety, but at least I'll know I'll be free to make my own choices. However, if I stay, neither safety nor freedom will be a certainty._ _It seems a simple decision, but I can't help but suspect that there's something at play here I don't understand. I wonder if my life was always this complicated …_

Despite the seeming advantages to escaping these seeming authorities (as the one thing he was sure of was that these people weren't actual shepherds), Robin had an overwhelmingly strong instinct to stay. No matter how logical it seemed to leave, he felt a strong connection to Chrom, Lissa, and even Frederick. He felt as if he would be letting them and the villagers down if he left, and he couldn't bear for them to be in pain. Robin raced after them, driven by the strength coming from a protective feeling towards these Shepherds, one whose source still remained a mystery to him. As he ran, he felt a clanking at his side and felt a weight inside his coat. He glanced down to observe a bronze sword, concealed at his left side. Astonished, he reached into his coat, and pulled out a combat Thunder tome. However, he was given no time to ponder his motivations for fighting or the extent of his combat training, as he needed to locate his benefactors as soon as he could. During his search for them, he began to internally comment on the poor formations of the bandits. _Their numbers are so scattered. A small group would easily be able to pick them off portions at a time before the others even realized what was happening._ Before he knew it, he had developed a strategy to divide and overwhelm them with the resources he had on hand.

Out of breath, Robin skidded to a halt behind Chrom and the others just outside the main marketplace. Chest heaving, he panted, "Chrom! Wait!"

Chrom turned around, shocked, "Robin? What are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure myself. But I know my way around a fight and I have a plan to take down these bandits. … If you'll have me, of course." He gestured to his tome and his sword, hoping that the weapons would speak to his capability.

Chrom studied him up and down a few seconds before staring him right in the eyes. Robin felt quite uncomfortable with the direct attention, but tried to communicate his resolve. After what felt like an eternity, Chrom smiled and appeared satisfied, "Very well. Guide us if you wish."

Frederick started, and looked sharply at Chrom, "Milord –"

"Frederick, we don't have time for this right now! Robin says he can lead us to victory, and I trust him. I can see the respect and compassion he feels toward our citizens in his eyes, and I believe that he will do everything he can to save as many as he can. In any case every moment we waste arguing is another drop of Ylissian blood spilt, and I will not have any more of our brave citizens fall to these dastards! Robin, what will you have us do?"

Startled at Chrom's vehement defense of his character, Robin paused a few seconds before recollecting his thoughts and sharing his battle plan, "Alright. We're located in the southwest corner of the marketplace. Frederick, I want you to take out the bandits directly north of here. Chrom and I will team up to take out the ones directly east of here. At this point, they will most likely see one of our teams. The team that is attacked first should take a defensive stance while the other team sweeps in from behind and aid in the elimination of this third group. However, if this third group splits up, then we both need to remain in a defensive stance and be prepared to defeat the reinforcements. After that, we can regroup, cross the river, attack the leader together. Any questions?"

Frederick shot a glare at Robin and snidely inquired, "And when, exactly, do you plan on stabbing milord in the back?"

Chrom began to protest yet again, but Robin cut across him, "Frederick, I get that you don't trust me, and while you are completely correct in maintaining that assumption, you really don't have the time to argue with me or the plan right now. There are people dying out there, and they're depending on us to save them. You know as well as I do that this maximizes our presence, gives us the advantage of an initial ambush, and minimizes the risk to all of us. This way, we all have the highest likelihood of getting out safely while drawing their attention away from the villagers, thereby allowing them to escape further harm."

Robin immediately regret his outburst despite his attempt to moderate it with logic, as Frederick appeared to be debating whether to impale him with his spear, or take a sword and slash his throat. Thankfully, Lissa was upset with the plan for a very different reason and distracted Frederick from his contemplation with her question, "Hey! What about me? I'm not completely useless, you know! I'm a cleric!"

Robin, having already suspected this, responded, "In that case, go with Frederick. He'd be alone otherwise, and I'd feel better if someone were watching his back. Besides, we may need your assistance before attacking the leader, as he probably is the biggest, meanest, and smelliest of the bunch."

Lissa giggled, before cheering, "Okay! Let's go team!" She grabbed Frederick by the arm and attempted to drag him in the direction that Robin had indicated. Frederick walked away slowly in spite of the spirited girl pulling on him, intent on staring Robin down until they both disappeared from sight.

Chrom sighed, "Sorry about Frederick. He's a very loyal friend, but he can sometimes be a bit over-protective of Lissa and me. He's known us forever-"

Robin held up his hand and shook his head, "There's no problem, Chrom. Honestly, I'd probably be just as suspicious if I were in his shoes. My story doesn't sound remotely believable, even to me. I'm just glad you could tell that I was being sincere."

Chrom looked him in the eyes, and just smiled, "I could tell that you meant us no harm when we first met, but the expression on you face when you saw all the suffering and the path to its prevvention told me all I'll ever need to know about your past. You care about the innocents of the world, even if it's not your responsibility to take care of them. You are the kind of man to lend a hand to justice, despite any personal burdens you must shoulder. These traits run deeper than memories, Robin. They are a part of who we are that nothing can change, which is why I know I can trust you."

Robin looked surprised at Chrom's sincerity, unsure of how to respond to something so personal with someone he just met. Thankfully Chrom quickly shook his head, and a more lighthearted grin overtook his face, "Enough of this talk on philosophy. There is a battle to be won! For Ylisse!" And with that, Chrom charged into the fight.

Robin shook his head, and felt a grin slowly spreading its way across his face, "For Ylisse!" he cheered as his took his place beside Chrom for the battle.

As he was charging toward the first group of bandits, Robin thought, _What in the gods' names is wrong with us? It really is bizarre how cheerful we are. We're about to charge into battle, with no idea of whether we'll survive or not, desperate to fight the suffering plaguing this land, and we're smiling as if there's nothing wrong; as if there's nothing we'd rather be doing. It may be a way to help deal with the sorrow and outrage, but I think there's nothing that either of us would rather be doing…_

They quickly wandered upon the first group of bandits. Robin quickly drew his Thunder tome and then stopped in his tracks, wondering how on Earth he was going to use a book to kill people. Unfortunately, the bandits had already noticed them, and began to charge.

Chrom skidded to a halt, and drew his sword, "I meant to ask you this before, but what proficiency have you reached with your weapons?"

Robin frowned, and while continuing to fiddle with the tome, asked, "Huh?"

Chrom, now scowling, took a defensive position in front of Robin, "How advanced are you with magic? Or the sword?"

Flipping through the pages, Robin asked, "What do you mean?"

Chrom, clearly exasperated, glared at him, "Do you even know how to use your weapons?"

Now shaking the book, Robin responded, "I think so? Maybe there's a hint somewhere …"

The blood drained out of Chrom's face, as he screamed, "What?!"

Robin, completely focused on his task, said, "Hang on. I think I'm starting to get it now…"

Still shaking the book, he vaguely began to remember how tomes worked. He closed his eyes to shut out distractions, and try to penetrate that damned fog. Finally, he realized that magic could be drawn out of objects by those who could feel the energy inside those object, guide it through themselves, and direct it outward to a target, allowing the energy to take the form it was intended to. Although he was once again thrilled at starting to remember things from his past, he did remember that he was in the middle of a battle. He held up his hand in the direction of the brigands, began to feel the energy come from the book, concentrate in the form of a ball in his hand, and release it towards them. Because his eyes were still closed, Robin was unable to see Chrom dive for safety behind a nearby merchant's stall. But, he did hit his mark. The first man collapsed, and began convulsing as the electricity ran through him, leaving severe burns on his chest. Unfortunately, he did rise again and charge with the rest of his fellows. Robin quickly opened his eyes, and attempted to get off a few more shots of lightning before they arrived within ax range. He called out, "Chrom? Dammit Chrom, come on!"

Robin managed to injure one more before they arrived in ax range, and he injured another and killed one whilst dodging many furious ax swings before finally drawing his sword as they had begun to surround him. At this point, Chrom leapt out from behind the counter, and took a defensive stance to Robin's back, killing a bandit marked with Robin's handiwork on the way.

As they charged the duo, Robin yelled, "Where the hell did you go?"

Robin could feel Chrom dodging an ax stroke and deflecting another without looking at him, while yelling back, "You were messing around with that damned book, and these dastards were sprinting straight for us!"

He paused to cleave one of them from shoulder to hip before continuing, "You looked like a complete moron for a few seconds, and I was ready to defend you. I didn't even start running when both you and that book started giving off sparks which, by the way, sting like hell. I only dived for cover when you nearly KILLED me with your first lightning blast!"

Robin caught an ax edge on the flat of his sword, gritting his teeth as his strength was put to the test. During his struggle, he noticed a few more bandits joining in. He managed to shove the individual back, with Chrom covering his sides while he was engaged, and stabbed him through the chest before returning his concentration to the conversation, "I told you I was getting the hang of it! Of all the places you could have stood, why right in front of me?"

Chrom gave a few quick vertical chops to an enemy swordsman before knocking him off-balance with a hilt smash to the chest and cutting him in half. Robin stepped in to deflect an ax strike, and Chrom lunged in to stab him in the neck. He then rolled his eyes, "Because it didn't look like you were going to do much of anything! I thought I was going to have to defend you, but as it turned out, I was the one who needed defense from you! Frederick was right!"

Robin nimbly sidestepped a few of an enemy mage's fire spells before rushing in to deal a lethal blow to his neck, spun around, and shot a lethal blast of lighting at an enemy myrmidon trying to split them apart. While he and Chrom whirled around to deal with their final opponent, he shot an incredulous glance at Chrom, "From me? I told you I was just fine! You should have trusted me to take care of myself! Perhaps you should try to follow your self-proclaimed philosophies."

The poor brigand didn't stand a chance as Robin quickly electrocuted and stunned him while Chrom finished him off. He looked over at Chrom to see him grinning in amusement. He touched his touched his own face and found that he was smiling like a fool as well. "Look at us!" Chrom proclaimed. "We barely even know each other, and we're joking around like we're old friends!"

Robin just shook his head, "We really ought to head to the river and see how Lissa and Frederick are doing."

As they set off north to try to find Lissa and Frederick one more, Robin began to contemplate the bout that he had just completed fought. _Chrom and I get along so well together. I feel so relaxed. It really is shocking that he barely knew me, yet he was still willing to trust me with his life. While I might criticize that decision, I did just do the same thing. Perhaps we aren't so different after all! But how the hell does this magic stuff work? And since when can I fight? Clearly I've been trained in both areas, but how much?_

While these thoughts plagued Robin, he pushed away his uncertainties for later. Perhaps it was part of training from his previous life, but he was certain that distractions on the battlefield would get you killed. _I'm far too curious to uncover my story to get myself killed just yet. Or perhaps I just want to see how my current story will end …_

They found Frederick at the bridge finishing off a myrmidon with Lissa riding on his horse behind him. Lissa looked overjoyed to see her brother again, and an expression of measured surprise crossed Frederick's face before it became stoic once more.

"What took you guys so long?" Lissa inquired.

"Easy, little sister. Not all of us can be as tireless as Frederick the Wary."

"It seems you have quite the mechanical knight there," Robin commented.

"All I hear are excuses!" Lissa sung.

Despite himself, Robin replied, "And how much of this journey have you walked yourself?"

"I'm not sure I like your tone, mister!"

"Now all I'm hearing are poorly concealed attempts at distraction…"

Lissa smirked, and with her eyes twinkling with amusement, turned to Chrom, "We sure found a funny one, didn't we?"

Chrom busted out laughing, "She got you in one!"

Frederick cleared his throat, "Should we not complete our mission before beginning celebrations, milord?"

Chrom immediately stopped, properly chastised, "Right. Let's take out their leader, once and for all!"

Lissa and Robin cheered as they crossed the bridge and approached the leader. Robin quickly identified the weapon he was carrying as throwing axes and developed a plan, "Chrom, stay back and let him charge me. I'll defend myself with magic so that you, and Frederick if necessary, can finish him off!"

Before waiting to hear a response, Robin began to pull ahead. Just as he suspected, their leader attacked as soon as he caught sight of their group. He immediately threw an ax at Robin, who quickly dodged it and returned with a blast of lightning. The brigand jeered as he dove out of the way, and threw another one. This time, Robin felt a cold, sharp pain in his right shoulder as the ax managed to graze him. Gritting his teeth, he fired again, and this time his aim was true. The man began to convulse, but held onto his ax. However, he was unable to recover in time to meet Chrom's blade as it descended, permanently ending this particular threat.

Lissa rushed over, worry clouding her eyes, "Omigosh! Robin, are you okay?"

Robin grit his teeth, and replied, "Honestly, it's not so bad. I don't think it hit anything important. There's no need to use your staff on something so small."

Lissa frowned, and said, "Nonsense! It's foolish to leave any wound untreated because it could turn into something far worse. Now let me see!"

Robin acquiesced, and showed Lissa his injury. She gasped, "Robin! There was poison coating that blade! I need to heal this right away before the toxin spreads. Don't move!"

Robin attempted to protest, but he got smacked in the head with her staff, eliciting a smirk from Frederick and a loud guffaw from Chrom. Lissa growled, "Don't think I won't hit you too," and smacked Chrom in the head with the staff as well.

Rubbing his head, Chrom stage-whispered, "We should have warned you about her violent tendencies." He was unable to continue, as he was forced to dodge another one of her painful strikes.

"Just – let – me –deal –with –my – patient!" Lissa exclaimed, punctuating each world with another blow.

Laughing, Chrom held his hands up in surrender, "All right! All right! Just help Robin before he passes away. You said it was serious didn't you?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah! The poison!" Lissa immediately turned her attention back to Robin's wound, narrowed her eyes in concentration, and raised her staff. The green ball topping her staff lit up, and Robin felt the pain retreat immediately, replaced with the bizarre sensation of his skin and muscle knitting itself back together.

Examining his arm, Robin replied, "Thanks! Although I can't figure out whether you were serious or not about that poison …"

She just smirked and raised her eyebrow in return, "Maybe, I was, maybe I wasn't. You'll never know!"

Chuckling, Robin turned his attention back to the town. He saw that while the bandits were distracted with them, rather than fleeing to save their lives, the villagers had worked tirelessly to rescue their own and to put out the fires the brigands had started. He was so amazed at the support that the villagers gave to one another so freely, he didn't even notice one of the leaders walk up to their little group, "Milord! Milady! Thank you so much for your aid! If left to our own, there surely would have been much more death and destruction before those blasted brigands were finally satisfied."

Noticing the use of their title again, Robin frowned to himself, _Perhaps they're lesser nobility somehow. They clearly have been trained in the art of war, but there's no way that high-ranking nobility would defend random villages when they can order someone else to do it._

Chrom shook his head, "There's no need to thank us. Just thank Naga that we were close enough to notice your plight. It is our duty and our honor to protect you after all!"

The villager looked astounded at these words, "Such kind words! Just being in your presence, the honor is all ours. For saving our town, we will surely throw you a feast! We may be of simple means, but the least we can to is provide you and your comrades with food and a bed for the night!"

Robin's frown deepened as new light was shed upon the question of who his mysterious benefactors were. _They're being treated like high-ranking nobility, or even royalty! I know they just saved the town, but they're talking to him like he's the exalt! … Perhaps they're a high-ranking military unit? But why would they have siblings in the same unit? And the only one that seems capable of traditional military discipline and conduct so far seems to be Frederick. There's far to many questions! And clearly, I'm the type to get absorbed in a mystery … and to talk to myself in my head …_

Chrom smiled, but declined again, "While I have no greater wish than to accept your hospitality, we have tarried to long already. While it may not be a long march to the capital, we must arrive there as soon as possible."

At this point, Lissa interrupted, "What? But Chrom, it'll be dark soon!"

Chrom grinned toothily at Lissa, "Then we'll just camp for the night. You know we have a date to keep!"

Lissa looked tempted to argue further, but as she didn't want to appear as immature before the village leader, she settled for an intimidating glare. Smiling slightly to himself at the antics of the siblings, the leader replied, "Very well, milord. However, if you find yourself in this vicinity once again with time on your hands, please visit, if it's not too impertinent a request. After all, we owe you a feast!"

Chrom looked touched by the offer, "Very well! If I find myself this way again with nowhere to go, I shall stop by! Farewell, friend!"

The village leader bowed to them before taking his leave and helping to organize rebuilding efforts. As Robin looked around more closely, there appeared to be a few injured villagers that were being treated by village healers already, but there thankfully appeared to be no deaths. Chrom appeared to arrive at the same conclusion, "Thank Naga we arrived here in such a timely fashion! It appeared they all knew how to deal with bandit raids, but typically a few are slaughtered randomly to maintain an element of fear. I believe we were able to prevent that and preserve most of their property. A successful mission, all things considered, don't you think?"

Robin was surprised by this deep tactical insight by Chrom, "You're smarter than you look, you know that?"

Fighting back a smile, Chrom raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Grinning shamelessly, Robin replied, "I'm just saying you seem like the type of man who charges in without thinking. I mean, using an amnesiac tactician you just met seems like a stupid move, but perhaps it was more calculated than that."

Smirking, Chrom began, "Maybe, I'm just- " but Lissa cut him off.

"He pegged you in one, didn't he?"

Chrom sighed so deeply that Robin knew that this wasn't the first time he received this same lecture.

A deep voice cut in, "It seems that you has regained knowledge of your sorcery, swordplay, and tactics. Perhaps you are capable of an explanation of how you came to be here as well?"

It was Robin's turn to sigh, "Frederick, it seems that I am capable of recalling specific skill-based knowledge, but history, theory, and other things that are considered common knowledge to most people are the things that are obscured the most. I'm afraid this includes my own past. I still have no idea where I come from, nor do I know why I am here."

Chrom suddenly snapped his fingers, as if struck by a great idea, "Than accompany us to the capital, Robin! Perhaps we will find something for you there."

"I would love to! Perhaps I can offer my services to your exalt and begin a new life there while I attempt to recall my previous one."

His comrades' reactions to this proclamation were varied and strange. Lissa cheered silently and clapped her hands, and while Robin supposed it was nice of her to do so, he was curious as to why she reacted with such vigor. Frederick opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead made a noise of irritation in his throat. _No surprise there. If he thinks I'm a traitor, that's the last place he would want me to be._ But the reaction that surprised him the most was Chrom. He could see that Chrom was happy for him, but he also had an expression that Robin could only describe as the feeling of accomplishment one has wen successfully maneuvering an opponent into a trap. Bewildered, he simply asked, "What? What did I say?" However, he didn't receive any answer beyond an attempt by all of them to 'act normal.'

Rolling his eyes in impatience, he said, "Alright. Don't tell me. But we should start heading out."


	3. Changing Fate

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone for the help they have given to me. It feels nice to be part of such a welcoming community of writers trying to help each other improve. I would also like to thank everyone for reading, reviewing, and following my story! It always encourages me to see new people read it and others come back to revisit it. In response to a reviewer, I do take requests for pairings, but I would like those who do request to remember that the ultimate decision lies with me. I will research the pairings, but if you believe you have found something that I haven't, then please feel free to make your case along with the request. Finally, I know that this is dragging on a little bit, but my plan for this story is to only go through the end of the Plegian war, and potentially through the peacetime. I am planning on writing a story on the Valmese war and the Rise and Fall of Grima, but I was going to keep those separate from this one so that I have the chance to fully explore the characters and situations occurring here. Anyway, thanks for reading again, and have a wonderful day!**

Robin immediately set off at an audacious pace. However, a chorus of voices froze him in place, "Robin! That's the wrong way!"

Fighting a blush, Robin turned back to his comrades, and meekly replied, "Right then. You lead."

Laughing, Chrom started off towards the woods (which Robin mentally smacked himself for not going towards) with the company not far behind.

As soon as they were out of the town, Frederick commented, "Milord, did you notice that some of the brigands spoke with a Plegian accent?"

Chrom's lips thinned in concentration and worry, "I didn't hear them speak as we were fighting. Are you sure absolutely sure it was Plegian?"

"Yes, milord."

"Then we should-"

"Agh! Blech! I think I just swallowed a bug! Euch," Lissa shuddered and began to retch.

This broke Chrom's concentration on the problem, as he joined in with the group's laughter, but Robin was quick to notice that worry and anger still dominated his eyes. He also noticed that he didn't continue his conversation with Frederick. _It's almost as if he forgot I was here. He must have been about to share something that I wasn't supposed to hear. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid and it doesn't concern me … but all the same, I'll press on it later._

"What was that, Robin?"

He jumped as someone startled him out of his contemplation, that someone being Lissa. "Uh, what?"

Lissa giggled, "Were you talking to yourself?"

Robin sighed, and put his head in his hands, imitating despair, "Probably. Not all the stuff we figure out about me can be good. I mean, after swords, sorcery, and tactics probably comes talking to one's self and insanity."

Lissa laughed loudly, "You're not wrong!"

Robin then remembered something that he heard from Chrom and Frederick's that he didn't understand, "Hey Chrom? What's 'Plegian'?"

Chrom looked amused, "Hm? Oh, right. I keep forgetting you have amnesia. Plegia is the country bordering Ylisse to the west. They send small bands of their poorly trained soldiers into our territory to serve as brigands to pillage our villages, hoping to instigate a war."

"And it's the poor townspeople who suffer! There's no point other than to terrorize our citizens. They're totally innocent and totally helpless …" Lissa exclaimed, clearly furious with the actions of this Plegia.

Robin opened his mouth to join in, quite enraged with this Plegia and their clearly immoral conduct, but Frederick decided to share his thoughts first, "Milady, you would do well to not get swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgment. Blind anger tends to lead us down a very dangerous path that very rarely has a good destination."

Lissa closed her eyes, and took a few deep breath, "I know, Frederick. I'll get used to it eventually."

Robin looked at Frederick, impressed, "I was just going to egg her on Frederick because, quite frankly, I agree with her. Your are a wise lieutenant, if a stern one."

Both Lissa and Chrom both made poorly concealed attempts to hold in their laughter. To answer Frederick's lethal glare, Robin could only think of one thing, "I'm sorry! It was just your turn to get a sassy one-liner. Honestly, it's been happening to all of us today."

This pushed both Chrom and Lissa over the edge. Lissa started laughing so loudly that she began snorting, and Chrom fell to the ground, apparently having lost the strength in his legs to stand. Robin simply stood there, sporting a smile filled with terror in anticipation of Frederick's response. Frederick began to breathe in slowly through his nose, which he somehow managed to make a threatening noise. At least to Robin, he seemed to grow even larger than he already was. Eventually he peaked in size, and Robin was fighting with all his will to not cower behind either Chrom or Lissa, as he knew that was the only thing that would stop Frederick from destroying him. Incredibly, Frederick did not strike Robin into a grease spot, but rather let out one of the largest sighs Robin could remember hearing (not that he remembered much). There was only one thing that could have caused this reaction in the otherwise seemingly impervious knight, "So, you get teased like this a lot, huh?"

Frederick at once looked suspiciously at him, but sensing that there was no immediate danger, replied, "You have no idea."

"To be quite frank, I'm not quite sure why you tolerate it," said Robin.

This actually elicited a smirk from Frederick, "Oh, there are certain things I endure for the good of all. The title of 'Wary' isn't the only burden I bear."

While Robin was quite curious what he meant by that, he felt that it would be pushing his luck way to far to ask something that personal so soon. He seemed very proud of his title of "Wary" after all, so Robin was sure that any further inquiry would be perceived as a threat.

As Robin continued to get to know Chrom, Lissa, and even Frederick during their march, the stronger that feeling of belonging and connection grew. _These people are simply good people. They don't let what I assume is their nobility get in the way of caring for and helping ordinary citizens. Heck, they behave like normal people themselves, for the most part. Sure, they're a little weird, but so am I. Actually, for all I know I'm a lot weird. And I'm practically talking to myself again …_

Before Robin knew it, the sun was beginning to set, and no city or sign of civilization was in sight. "We best make camp here for the night," Chrom stated.

Groaning, Lissa pouted at her brother, "I told you we wouldn't make it by nightfall!"

"And I told you that camping and hunting aren't terrible things that should be avoided at all costs! Seriously, I thought you wanted a little bit of grit in your life."

"Yeah! Grit as in helping our country defend its helpless! Not grit as in helping no one by sleeping in a bag on the ground in a forest with all these BUGS!"

"Well, it's certainly too late to change anything now, unless you can travel through time! Now you might as well help us prepare the campsite by-"

"I'LL START THE FIRE!" Frederick exclaimed. His outburst caused everyone to jump, and even caused Chrom's hand to shoot toward his sword's hilt.

Remembering himself, Frederick immediately hurried away as he began to blush, "Er, that is if you don't mind milord. I'm off to collect the firewood!"

Everyone simply stared at the direction of his abrupt exit in silence for several moments. Robin broke it with the inquiry, "Um, is he always that eager to start fires?"

Looking torn between worry and amusement, Chrom sighed deeply through his nose, "Um, no. He's not. He likes to do as much as he possibly can, but that seems to be very high in his priorities, along with collecting rocks. Apparently, his reason for collecting these rocks are to ensure my and Lissa's safely, so I presume that his reason for starting the fires are similar."

"… So he's fine with you, say, hunting and fighting bandits, but he can't stand the thought of you starting a campfire or tripping on a rock?"

"Yep! That seems to be the case!" Lissa chirped.

"But is he always that EAGER to start a fire? I mean, a lot of weird stuff has happened to me today, but that's pretty far up there. Like, not quite as high as sudden and complete amnesia, but certainly higher than fighting bandits financed by another country to instigate war. And I'm assuming that the fire thing was weird, which it may not be because I have no memory to compare this behavior to."

"No, that was pretty weird, even for Frederick," Lissa said. "He did seem pretty stressed out today, given the bandits and Robin's appearance and everything …"

Robin frowned as a frightening possibility occurred to him. _Wait … does he start fires to deal with stress? That can't be right, that would be … Nah! That's impossible! There no way he's –_

"A pyro?" Chrom questioned.

"Aaaah!" Robin screamed, started by Chrom suddenly invading his thoughts. "Chrom! How did you do that?"

"I'm secretly the most powerful sorcerer you well ever meet! Muhahaha!"

Robin's eyes went wide, but Lissa simply began to smirk, "… And you couldn't have used any of that unimaginable power to smite those Plegian ruffians?"

Chrom glared at her, while Robin began to laugh, "Not a bad job, Chrom! You had me going there for a little bit. Shame you can't come up with remotely plausible stories though."

Chrom smirked at Robin triumphantly, and spoke with the air of delivering a devastating blow, "At least I don't talk to myself! That's a sure sign of insanity!"

Lissa began to laugh, but Robin just leaned in and grinned at him like a wolf, "Correction, sir. Insanity is key to all tactics! Besides, all the master tacticians do it, so clearly, my proficiency must mean that I must be the best one of all!"

Chrom rolled his eyes in disbelief and began to open his mouth to reply, but the sound of a large, manly throat being cleared stopped them all in their tracks. They all turned around to see Fredrick carrying a massive amount of wood, glaring at them, "Milord. I believe that we require something to eat?"

Chrom, properly abashed, replied, "Okay. I'll see what I can catch. Robin, want to come with?"

Robin nodded and made to stand, but Frederick was once again quick to intervene as he was stacking the wood in the middle of their camp, "Oh, no. Even if I trusted this stranger, which I don't, you've proven to be far to distracted in his company. I shall accompany you, milord. I shall allow milady and Robin to start the fire and prepare the cookware. Before you ask milord, I think you'll find that milady is more resourceful than you think should the tactician become a problem. Once your chores are done, then milord and milady can finish their fun time."

"But Frederick- " Chrom attempted to protest, but he was grabbed by the arm and dragged out into the forest by the knight.

"Hey! Let go! Frederick! Frederiiiiick!"

As they disappeared into the trees, Robin looked at Lissa, and joked, "Unless we want the caning of a lifetime, we should probably start of these 'chores.'"

Lissa giggled, and said, "I'll take the prep if you take the fire?"

"Sure!" replied Robin as he began to clear the brush in the middle of their clearing.

As they were setting up, Robin asked, "So Lissa, what do you think of my story? Both Frederick and Chrom are pretty vocal about me. You are have been very kind towards me, which is an answer within itself, but I'd like to hear it from you."

Lissa pursed her lips, "I believe it. You seem quite sincere to me. There were plenty of times already where you could have ran from us or even hurt us, but you never took any of those opportunities. It seems impossible for someone to collapse in the middle of a field and somehow lose all the memories of who they were, but the evidence of it is standing right here. Regardless of how it's even possible for something like that to happen, I know you are our ally. There's no other possibility anymore, with all the chances you were given to abandon or harm us without repercussion."

Robin sighed in relief, "Thanks for that. I needed someone to help me lay out the facts, to say that it's logically clear from my actions that I mean your shepherds and your country no harm. I want nothing more than to be accepted by your people and your exalt, except to perhaps be of what little service I can be."

Lissa smiled at him, "I'm sure you can be a lot of help! I don't think I've ever met anyone like you before. Most tacticians I know are people who would never take to the battlefield themselves, more interested in fame and glory than those they should be protecting. Even with your combat abilities, the only other people I can think of that wield both magic and a weapon would be the legendary Dark Fliers, and it usually takes years of study and practice to mix their techniques together as effectively as I saw you do."

"Yet again, you help ease my mind. I know Chrom tends to take charge, but you're quite the fine leader yourself!"

Lissa maintained her smile, but she got a dangerous look in her eyes, and her smile crystallized, "…What's that supposed to mean?"

Robin's head began to tingle where she had hit it with the staff earlier that day, "Uh … it just means that you're more … um … you know what? Let's just say that you're one of the most intelligent and inspirational people I know!"

Lissa eyes softened, and her smile became genuine, "Nice save. I thought I would have to hit you on the head again. And yes, I'm overlooking the fact that the only people you know are me, Chrom, and Frederick."

"Hey! That's not my fault! Amnesia, remember?"

Robin didn't know where the time went, but before he knew it, there was a roaring fire in the middle of their clearing and the moon was starting to rise when Chrom and Frederick came back with a bear ready for roasting.

Robin welcomed the presence of Chrom and Frederick, as their little gathering grew even closer together. The merrily dancing flames warmed them and lit their conversations, and the smell of cooking meat made their mouths water and their stomachs grumble in protest at being made to waid. They passed the time with much conversation and laughter, which mystically sped up the passage of time once again, as the bear was quickly ready and divided equally among them.

While Robin instinctively remembered the process of eating, he had apparently forgotten quite how delicious food could be, specifically bear meat. He had also forgotten how hungry once could be. As he literally couldn't remember the last time he had eaten, he found he was incredibly hungry. He was quite absorbed in consuming as much food as possible as quickly as possible. However, he did catch bits and pieces of conversation, most of which were curious to him. He had noted that neither Lissa nor Fredrick liked bear meat, but Frederick in particular had a strong aversion to it. He also noted that there was something called 'table etiquette' but he wasn't sure what it was. All he knew was that he didn't have it, and they were definitely making fun of him for it."

After talking a bit more about this apparent Plegian threat, getting clarification on what etiquette was, and joking around a bit more about Frederick's phobia of bear meat, they all decided to get some sleep. They all had sleeping bags, and fell asleep incredibly quickly. Robin just wrapped himself up in his cloak rested his head on a rock. He continued to gaze up at the stars, and wonder at his past. _Who the hell am I? Was I a good person? Was I just normal? Who did I know? Did I have friends? Family? Or did no one notice me as I disappeared? Clearly I was trained in multiple disciplines, but Lissa clearly stated that there was no one with my specific skill set she's ever met. This means multiple teachers, but from where? Where the hell am I from anyway?_

This fruitless line of questioning accompanied Robin until he slipped into a shallow, restless sleep. When Frederick awakened him, he felt that only a few moments had passed.

"Whass goin' on? Frederick? Wha' happen?"

"Robin. Loathe as I am to admit it, I require your assistance."

Robin sat up, rubbed his eyes, and shook his head to awaken himself, "Okay. What exactly do you need my help with?"

"I awoke due to a tremor in the Earth to find that milord and milady were gone. I naturally suspected you initially, but you were sound asleep. Not even you could have acted so well. I observed two sets of footprints leaving our camp, with no sign of struggle and no attempt to hide other footprints, which seemed to further support your innocence. While I could track them myself, if they split up, I couldn't follow them both. I couldn't take the chance that I neglected to aid one of my charges by choosing the wrong set of footprints. Prepare for a true test of loyalty, Robin. We will follow the footprints together, and if they diverge, you are to follow the one I don't and protect either milord or milady, depending upon who you find."

"Sure thing, Frederick," Robin stated, as he rose.

"Let us be off!" Frederick immediately set of at an astonishing pace, requiring Robin to jog to keep up.

They worked in silence, Frederick completely focused on his task. Robin noticed that there was something wrong, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. Eventually, he noticed that there was no sound of life around them. Despite being in a forest, it was completely silent save for the whispering wind.

"Frederick … something's going to happen."

"What?"

"The forest animals are either silent or not here. Maybe the tremor was predictive of something else. Be on guard."

Frederick sighed in exasperation, "Robin, I didn't bring you along for your opinion. Let's just focus on the –"

At that moment, an unearthly red glow illuminated the entire forest. Robin turned toward the source of the disturbance, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. It appeared to him that a wave of solid earth was moving toward him and Frederick at an astonishing pace. An enormous plume of molten rock shot into the sky from the center of the disturbance, starting forest fires in the surrounding area. Then, Robin felt an aftershock of magical energy overwhelm him, driving him to his knees. Despite not remembering his past, he knew that it was the most powerful magical discharge he had ever encountered. A thought rose unbidden to his mind, _A blast like that would be enough to tear reality itself apart._ Before he could contemplate what he just realized, a shrill cry pierced the rumbling fury of nature and the arcane. Its familiarity drove that thought from his mind.

"LISSA!" screamed Frederick before he mounted his horse and took off at full speed toward the epicenter of the event, leaving Robin barely enough time to vault onto the horse before they escaped his reach. Despite his best attempts, fear began to well up into his belly as he thought of Chrom and Lissa's wellbeing.

Waging a desperate internal battle against his panic, he tried to grab the terrified Frederick's attention, "We have to slow down and think about what's happening! Frederick! FREDERICK!"

However, Frederick completely ignored him. His charges were in danger, and this rendered him completely deaf to anything except his objective. Robin groaned, shook his head with frustration, and tried to think about who could be responsible for such an act. _I may be missing some memories, but I am nearly certain that this occurrence isn't natural. I certainly felt a large magical disturbance, but this level of sorcery is impossible! There is no one alive who could cast such a powerful spell! I have a feeling that the questions of who and how are directly related to one another here …_

"THERE!" yelled Frederick, jerking Robin out of his thoughts. He saw Chrom and Lissa on the other side of the clearing, facing a mysterious blue portal marked by ancient runes on its perimeter. He then saw something that chilled him to his core. He saw a dead body disfigured by sorcery holding a weapon fall through a portal, get up, and charge at Chrom. While he was busy defending himself, another one of them began to advance on Lissa. She drew her staff and held it in front of her, as if to protect herself with it. Robin knew that even riding at top speed, they wouldn't be able to make it in time. Panicking, he looked around desperately for anything to get to her in time. He noticed that something else was appearing through the portal. He was preparing for another threat, but instead of another dead body, he saw that a masked individual, perhaps a man, burst through the portal with what appeared to be a great effort and fell to the ground. Robin was fully expecting him to be the leader of these beasts, but instead, he began to dash toward Lissa. He was faster than anyone he had seen who wasn't mounted, and Robin knew that if this man was their enemy, they were all dead, for he outclassed everyone, perhaps even Frederick. Considering all the undead soldiers potentially under his command, Robin was certain that they would all perish in the forest. Staring in horror, Robin watched as he reached his target, but was astonished to see that he somehow slide between the ax and Lissa, blocking it in a reverse guard behind his back. Robin marveled at the strength it required to block an ax strike in that fashion. He and Frederick managed to arrive as Chrom and the mysterious man quickly finished off the eldritch abomination together.

Robin immediately hopped off the horse, while Frederick asked, "Milord! Milady! Are you okay?"

Lissa looked somewhat shaken, "Frederick! Robin! We're fine. How about you?"

Robin waved her off, "Nothing wrong here. Are such terrible creatures commonplace, and I have forgotten?"

Despite the grim atmosphere, Chrom cracked a grin, "Not even close. This is just as new for me as it is for you."

Frederick, still quite worked up, raked his eyes over his charges, "Are you sure you're okay? Thanks the gods!"

Recovering herself, Lissa smiled, "Thank that masked man who saved me! If it weren't for him, I'd be … hey, where'd he go?"

Looking around, Robin managed to spot him walking away from the group, "Hey! HEY! You there! We could use your help!"

The masked man made to turn around and face them, but he appeared to control the impulse and dash out of sight, but toward the enemy. Robin frowned, "Hmph. I wonder what that's about."

Frederick placed a hand of his shoulder, "We can worry about him later, AFTER we're finished here. So how about a plan, tactician?"

Shocked with Frederick's show of support, Robin once felt like he was doing his best impression of a fish before coming up with a plan, "Okay. Lissa, follow Frederick again. I want you to head west and try to take down as many of these solders as you can. Chrom and I will team up once again and head south-southwest and attempt to clear out those groups. My guess is that the leader of these creatures would be stationed as far away from us as possible, so probably somewhere to the southwest assuming he doesn't move around very much. Frederick, Lissa, regroup with us after defeating the monsters to our west. We're pretty outnumbered, so try to use the terrain to your advantage to stagger the enemies you take on at once. Our secondary objective is to try to find that masked man and ask for his help. He appeared to be quite skilled, and working him into our strategy would greatly improve our chances at success. However, don't risk anyone's life for a conversation. Killing these things is still our top priority. Any questions?"

They didn't need to say anything because the determination on their faces said all that he needed to know. "Excellent! Let's go."

"For Ylisse!" Chrom cheered.

"FOR YLISSE!" they all echoed as they began to advance to their designated positions. Robin felt Chrom's familiar presence at his side as they began to charge for the closest of these abominations. As he was drawing his tome, a crude structure caught his eye. "Chrom? What's that?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's just an abandoned fort."

"'Fort' seems too strong a noun for that structure. It looks like it can barely hold two people!"

"Call it what you want! I don't really care about some run down structure in the middle of a forest. Can we get fighting now?"

"Hang on! It might be seriously underwhelming, but it might just give us the edge we need to take on a large group of these things at once!"

"We don't need it! We can take them!"

"But how do we know that more of them won't just appear out of another portal thing? I said that we should advance cautiously because we're outnumbered. I didn't even mention that we're facing an entirely unknown type of enemy!"

"Argh! You can be so aggravating sometimes! Fine! We'll do it your way."

As the duo began to make for the fort, a thin, black smoke began to drift in. As they slid into the cover that it provided, Robin asked, "What's that?"

"You didn't see the damn things up close," whispered Chrom. "They breathe out that smoke. I have no idea what it is, but it's kind of creepy."

"It's probably just an incidental release of the dark magic that reanimating that lifeless matter. By the way, pun intended? It's kind of a cold one to start with. Some of them could have been quite good in life!"

Chrom smacked him in the arm, "Robin! We're dealing with what appears to be zombies, and you're cracking jokes about their souls?"

"Ow! And I'm pretty sure you're the one who cracked the joke! And keep your voice down! They could be close."

Chrom rolled his eyes, but decided not to retort, peering above the wall of their "fort" through the smoke to identify where those things were coming from. He caught movement in the corner of his eye, and brought his sword up just in time to block an enemy's lance. "Damn! They're already on top of us!"

Robin immediately stood up and started shooting balls of lighting at the beasts. He noticed that when some of them died – for lack of a better term – they disintegrated into the same black smoke they breathed out, but others had their muscles seize uncontrollably, and return to their relentless assault with only partially impaired movement. Needing more data to reach a true conclusion, he called out, "Chrom! My lightning seems to be doing its damage, but they don't seem to feel any pain!"

Chrom, who had disarmed the lancer, cut him in half, and began to engage two ax-wielding fighters at once, grunted back, "Nonlethal blows barely slow them down! Only physical damage to their bodies does anything useful, but lethal blows seem to do the trick as well. If they're reanimated by sorcery to be soldiers, pain wouldn't be of much use, would it?"

Killing an enemy swordsman and lancer with his tome, Robin responded, "Fair enough," as they continued to defend themselves. With the aid of the structure, Robin and Chrom were able to make it out unscathed.

Robin heard a galloping horse approaching from behind. Not knowing if it was Frederick, Robin whirled around with a lightning ball in his hand, poised to eliminate the potential threat. However, what he saw was a female mounted knight galloping toward them, waving at Chrom, with what appeared to be an archer, groaning in pain, draped over the back of her horse. She skidded to a stop, ignored the cry of pain as the archer fell to the ground, and saluted, "Captain Chrom! Reporting for duty, sir!"

Robin was thoroughly confused at this point, and shot a questioning glance at Chrom, but he held up his hand to forestall the inevitable onslaught of questions. Robin frowned at this response, and attempted to glean some answers of his own. _She's clearly a knight. Lightly armored, but fairly fast and strong. Not on Frederick's level, but she is most certainly dedicated and on that path. She only carries a lance with her, so she probably favors that weapon._

Robin then turned his attention to the man on the ground. _He's definitely an archer, and appears to be injured rather severely. Most likely a kick to the groin, going by the fetal position, but how the hell did he manage to get himself kicked there? Why would a mindless beast even think to hit him there? ... Oh. OH! Note to self: don't cross the lady knight. Ever._

During Robin's inspection of these new factors in the battle, Chrom grinned at the mounted knight, "Sully! How did you know where to find us? And you know how I feel about titles!"

Sully guffawed, "Chrom, please. It's not that hard to find out where someone is if you know the starting position, the destination, and the route that they ALWAYS use to get there."

Chrom chuckled, "Ha! Fair enough. As you can see, we have quite the situation here."

"I leave you for one day, and a monster infestation manages to spring up?" Sully sighed, "Why does all the action begin when I'm out of the picture?"

"I know I shouldn't ask, but what happened to Virion?

"Oh, you mean Ruffles? He tried to propose to me multiple times. He didn't understand that I was declining, so I expressed myself with the universal language."

Chrom roared with laughter, and crouched down to look at the archer, "Virion, I told you, if you treat the women in the Shepherds like you do the village maidens, they'll do much more than throw something in your face."

Finally attempting to stand, Virion replied, "But I cannot help myself! When I see a beautiful woman, I must – eek!"

He had squealed and rolled away in response to Sully aiming a kick at him. "Okay! Okay! I'll stop! I promise!"

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Sully said smugly, satisfied with this reaction of terror she induced in the archer.

Growing impatient, Robin cleared his throat, "Hi! I'm Robin, Chrom's interim tactician. You've never heard of me as Chrom found me on the side of the road today."

Both Sully and Viron both began to ask questions, but Robin held up his hand. To his amazement, they both stopped talking. "I know you both have questions, but we must postpone them until the battle is won. I surmise that Virion is you, archer, and Sully is you, cavalier?" Robin inquired. The both nodded their assent.

"The archest of archers, in fact!" Virion exclaimed. "In fact-"

Robin cut him off, sensing that he was about to embark on a long-winded story, "In that case, I would like you to cut slightly south of here and make your way west, as we believe that their commander is somewhere west-southwest of our current position. I would advise having Sully in front to take the melee hits with Virion in the back to weaken them. I'm sure Sully can handle mages and archers with no problem. We'll stay to your north and push them west. Frederick and Lissa should be meeting up with us soon. Understood?"

Sully and Virion both looked irritated and confused because they were taking orders from a complete stranger, and Robin couldn't blame them one bit. However, when they looked to Chrom for confirmation and he nodded his assent, they both did as they were ordered.

Robin cringed at the thought of being a commander in charge of people when he had less than twelve hours of memories at his disposal right now, and Chrom caught the gesture, "Hey. It's okay. As they get to know you, they'll be more comfortable with you. It's just a matter of time before they see who you are, just as I did."

Robin smiled wryly, "How in the hell did you get to know me so well in less than a day?"

Chrom matched his smile, "Well, I always say that fighting in life-or-death situations that force us to trust each other helps us know each other better than anything else, and we've already had two of those today."

"…You know you shouldn't be catching up with your soldiers in the middle of battle, right? We should press on."

"I know. Let's finish these dastards off and be done with it!"

As they were continuing toward the estimated position of the group's leader, Robin caught a flash out of the corner of his eye, caused the reddish glow of the fires and lava glinting off of a mask. "Chrom, it's the swordsman!"

"Go! I see Lissa and Frederick. I'll team up with them and try to take out the leader. Remember, to get someone to join you, try to connect with them and show them that they can trust you!"

Quickly nodding his assent and his thanks, he raced off after the swordsman. In order to avoid startling him and accidentally getting himself stabbed, he approached as loudly as possible, "Hey! HEY!"

He saw Robin coming after him, and immediately made to disappear, but she was busy engaging several monsters on her own, making it impossible to disappear before Robin caught up. When he got in range, he started electrocuting the monsters, giving some breathing room for the swordsman to go on the offensive. Once he could see the bright center of their glowing red eyes, Robin drew his sword, and began to help the swordsman, standing in the back-to-back configuration that he and Chrom perfected when they were so drastically outnumbered. As he and the swordsman slashed out in tandem, he asked, "So just who are you anyway?"

The swordsman stayed silent, calmly repelling a lancer and an axman from Robin, and slicing them apart. Undeterred, Robin persisted as he overpowered and beheaded a myrmidon, "If you won't tell me that, at least tell me why you're here?"

Still silent, the swordsman slashed through three more beasts at once, bringing the battle to an end astonishingly quickly. He attempted to disappear once again, but Robin was ready for it this time and chased him, "You can't pull that one twice! Come back here and let me help you!"

"I don't need help!" he growled as he attempted to lose Robin.

Robin supposed he irritated him into a response, but pressed his advantage nonetheless, knowing that he was about to lose this test of speed, "It wouldn't kill you to have a plan and some backup! Besides, I won't stop pestering you until you fight with us. I don't know you very well, but I do know that you're willing to help, even if you don't wish to fight by our side."

Aggravated, the swordsman sighed through his nose, and stopped running, "Very well. What would you have me do?"

"Based on how you dispatched an entire squad of them by yourself, you probably have dealt with these things before, haven't you?"

His lips tightened, "… No, I know nothing about them."

Robin could tell he was lying, but decided not to press it. A man's past was his own business, and Robin didn't like the amount of time it would take to drag the answer out of him, "Very well. In that case, we believe that the leader of these monsters is close. Just stick by me and help me take it down. By the way, what should I call you?"

The ghost of a smirk appeared on the swordsman's face before disappearing, leaving Robin to wonder if it was ever there in the first place, "In order to find that out, you must defeat this horde of monsters, sir Tactician."

Relieved at the discovery of the swordsman's humanity, he replied, "Very well, sir Knight. Let us try to catch up to the others."

They raced along to try to join up with the others. After finding the entire company, he greeted them with, "Did anyone find the leader of these things yet? There aren't a lot of them left."

Frederick turned to him, "Lissa and I swept the northern quadrant. It's clear."

"We got the south. All those ashen freaks are dust now," Sully replied.

"We're just about to finish our sweep of the woods. The leader is the last one, and he should be close," Chrom explained.

"How will we know it's the leader?" asked Lissa.

As if on cue, a monster at least ten feet tall in humanoid form wielding a throwing axe burst through the trees, roaring so loud that it chilled Robin's heart.

"Does that answer your question?" Robin sardonically remarked. "Alright, Chrom, sir Knight, on me. We'll take it head on. Virion, fall back and try to weaken the thing. Sully, stand in front of him to cut off his angle to Virion. Frederick, take Lissa and try to flank him."

Virion immediately began to fire arrows at the monster, aiming for its eyes, with Sully riding in front of him to block the monster's swipe at him with her lance. Rushing in, Chrom and the swordsman leapt in and tried to slice the monster's arms and legs to limit its movement while Robin launched bolt after bolt of lightning at the monster to hold its attention. Frederick meanwhile, was rushing around the back, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Overwhelmed, the monster took a swipe at the swordsman, but he simply leapt off of his arm and plunged his sword into the monster's chest. As he began to fall, Virion lodged an arrow between the chief's eyes, Sully stabbed him clean through the side of his chest, Frederick stabbed him through the top of his head, and Chrom and Robin slashed him through the neck to sever his head. _Clearly we're all terrified of him getting back up, even though he wasn't as tough as I had thought_ , Robin thought wryly as the chief began to dissolve.

Sully shook her head, and gestured at the swordsman and Robin, "All right. Now that the immediate crisis is over, who exactly are these two and what is their story?"

Robin chuckled, and shook his head, and told Sully literally everything he remembered. Lissa and Chrom chimed in when they felt his descriptions were inadequate, but by the end, Sully and Virion looked impressed, having had their questions answered as the story was told, but Robin felt suspicion emanating from the swordsman, despite the mask concealing his face. However, now that things had calmed down, Robin began to frown, as he felt that there was something off about the swordsman. He knew that the swordsman was lying about something else nonthreatening, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Shaking his head he dismissed it, "As for this one, I'm not sure what his name is, but he helped us take care of these creatures."

He left some time for the swordsman to introduce himself and tell his tale, but he remained silent. Lissa broke this silence, "Um, I never got to say thank you for saving my life before, so thank you. It was very brave of you."

Chrom stepped forward and looked the swordsman in the mask, "You saved my sister's life, and for that you have my eternal gratitude. My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"

The swordsman's lips tightened as if he were trying to hold back the name bursting form his lips. Robin decided that one more push should put him over the edge, "You did promise me, you know."

The ghost of a smile appeared on the swordsman's lips again as he replied, "You may call me Marth. However, I'm not here to talk about me. The world is approaching a state where it will desperately require its heroes once again. What you saw tonight was just a taste. Prepare yourselves."

He quickly dashed into the tree line before they could react, disappearing into the night.

"Wait, what? WAIT!" Lissa cried after him, but to no avail.

"Yeah … he likes to do that. A lot," Robin said, staring at the spot where Marth disappeared.

"We should rest for what little of the night remains as we break at dawn to see how the capital fares. I believe this to be an isolated event, but in the case it isn't, we mustn't be caught unawares. I estimate us having three hours until dawn, in which case I will take watch for what remains of the night. Rest up in case we must go to the capital's aid."

Everyone broke out their bags and fell asleep almost immediately after moving to respectable distances from one another, leaving Robin gazing after Marth, trying to figure out what else was off about him. After a few minutes, he began to lie down and wrap himself up in his cloak again, but he was still pondering him. _Who is he? What was he trying to warn us about? The end of the world? He seems familiar, but it's a different sort of familiarity than what I feel with Chrom._ His thoughts began to slow down as drowsiness began to claim him, _He has a short build and a familiar style balancing strength and speed, but based off of what? And why does his voice sound like hell? He gave no indication of illness or injury. Maybe he's faking his voice. Wait … this reeks of … faking gender? Why would he – or she – do that? I would guess that the mask was anonymity enough! Where is he from? What does it have to do with the reality-breaking portal? And was my life always so … freaking …weird?_ With that final thought, sleep claimed Robin as he was unable to resist it any longer.


	4. The Royal Family

**A/N: Hello again! I apologize for the extended wait, but midterms wait for no man (and neither does the quarter system)! Also, this chapter was harder to write than the others, so I apologize in advance for any decrease in quality. I would like to thank those who are reading, reviewing, and following the story. Your actions help encourage me to continue writing, and I greatly appreciate it. For those who have submitted pairing requests, know that I have received them and am working on deciding them. However, I don't want to give away the story, so they will remain a secret until then! I should get on with the story then, shouldn't I? Presenting, the next chapter in the story! Thanks again for reading, and have a great day!**

Robin was awake before he felt Frederick's cold hand shake his shoulder. He had awakened several minutes before, and as he was wide awake, he decided to use that time to think some more about the events that he believed to have transpired last night. _Was it real, or a dream? Reanimating dead bodies should be something right out of a novel, and yet the proof of it stood before me last night. What do zombies, an incredible magical discharge, and a mysterious swordsman who may or may not be disguising his or her gender have in common? I don't even know if the portal magic was connected with the necromancy, as the portal's magic felt far more benign than the magic reanimating the monsters. All I know is that everything that happened last night should be impossible._ Robin sighed through his nose, frustrated at the lack of sense the world was making. _Maybe I'll make a diagram or talk to Chrom about it or something. I still don't even know who I am, and all this nonsense falls into my lap, just asking to be solved. Maybe I should just focus on the matter at hand and try to secure a job as some underling tactician or something._ As soon as he thought it, Robin grinned to himself. _Hah! As if that'll happen! I guess I'm sort of obsessive when it comes to mysteries. Oh, the irony!_

It was at this point that he felt Frederick urging him to awaken, and he sprang nimbly to his feet. Frederick raised his eyebrow, "I'm impressed, Robin! Not many people are able to awaken with as much energy so early."

"I've been up thinking for a little while. I seriously doubt that I'm actually a morning person."

Frederick sighed in disappointment, "A shame. You certainly made quite the impression last night. While I still don't fully trust you, you certainly made a step in the right direction. I was hoping to another admirable quality to that list of yours, but it seems I was mistaken."

Robin pouted, "Hey! What about honesty? Doesn't that count?"

"The jury is still out on that one," Frederick smirked. Switching trains of thought, the smile faded off his face, "Given that the capital may be under attack, I believe we have tarried long enough to regain our strength. Ylisstol is well defended, so if it is under attack from the monsters we engaged last night, it should be safe. Regardless, we ought to make haste to lend aid in case we are needed."

"Right. So, you want to wake everyone else up, or should I?"

A wolfish grin plastered itself on Frederick's face, "If you don't mind, I would like to have that pleasure myself."

"No problem!" Robin responded, a shiver crawling its way down his spine. "Although, you really should find a less threatening way to smile. Seriously, I rarely see you happy unless you're about to bring down the ax. Or lance, in your case."

"I'll let that comment pass for now, but you would do well to remember that my tolerance is limited," Frederick responded as he bent down to awaken his charges.

After much whining, groaning, procrastinating, and a few near death experiences, the Shepherds began to march for the capital.

"I still can't believe you made him break out the water," Robin teased Chrom, who was marching next to him, still dripping wet.

Grumpy from waking up early, Chrom made a face, "It wasn't my fault! I was getting up! I'm pretty sure Lissa is the one to blame here!"

Outraged, Lissa felt it necessary to defend her character from Chrom's unjust assault, "Me?! What pushed him over the edge was when you fell asleep after he woke you up for the third time!"

"Well, at least I didn't try to kill the man!" Chrom sputtered, feeling attacked.

Lissa opened her mouth to respond, feeling guilty that she tried to bludgeon the man, but Sully beat her to the punch, mistakenly thinking Chrom was referencing her attempt to skewer everything in sight, "Hey! Nothing he did woke me up! You should know better than to surprise me!"

"But my beautiful hair was ruined! I'll be walking into Ylisstol looking like a common thug!" Virion complained, feeling that no one was grasping the true tragedy of the situation. "The maidens will be robbed of such a beautiful, heart-stopping sight, all thanks to your buffoonish actions!"

Feeling aggravated at the bickering, Frederick decided to end the pity party, "Until any of you almost gets KILLED MULTIPLE TIMES BY YOUR ALLIES, I suggest you stop complaining."

Properly abashed, the Shepherds changed the topic of conversation while they marched. However, the march to Ylisstol was so short that Robin was able to glean very little about their characters and stories beyond what he had discovered last night. Sully and Virion bade them farewell at the outside walls, but they neglected to mention where, exactly, they would be going. Not wanting to ask, he decided to postpone this line of questioning, and simply content himself with exploring Ylisstol. To his great relief, Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick decided to continue accompanying him through the crowds.

"So, any idea of where you want to go and what you want to do now that you're here?" Chrom inquired.

"I was serious when I said that I was going to offer my services to Ylisse. I may not be an expert in the field, but she may yet have use for someone like me. Especially since war with Plegia seems so close at hand …"

"At least the capital was spared the chaos we witnessed in the forest," Frederick commented.

"It's nice to know that everyone avoided those creatures," Lissa agreed.

"Look!" Robin heard someone call. "The Exalt has come to see us!"

Robin frowned at this, "Her name is Lady Emmeryn, right? Is it safe for her to be so exposed to the public like this with the Plegian threat?"

Chrom shook his head, "She's a symbol of peace, Robin. The first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon, Naga, to protect the world against the Fell Dragon, Grima. The Fell Dragon was trying to destroy the world, but the exalt killed the Fell Dragon so that the whole world could have lasting peace. She reminds us of the peace that he fought for, and acts as a mediating presence when the people might otherwise call for war."

Impressed, Robin shook his head in awe, "Then Ylisse is very fortunate to have her!"

"She's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!" Lissa exclaimed, with a twinkle of mischief in her eye.

Chuckling, Robin responded, "Yes, I imagine she would be."

However, as the meaning of Lissa's words registered with Robin, his eyes went wide, "Wait, what?"

"She's our big sister, silly!" Lissa responded while rolling her eyes at him, as if this fact were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But … but wouldn't … you and Chrom are …"

"The prince and princess of Ylisse, yes," Frederick chuckled. "You remember Chrom's name, and not his lineage?"

"But you said you were 'shepherds!' I mean, I figured were nobles, but I could have never imagined …" Robin exclaimed.

"Well, we are Shepherds, aren't we?" Chrom questioned. "Just … scaled up a bit in terms of sheep."

"Come on Chrom, you know it's not the same thing! I – I mean Prince Chrom!" Robin coughed awkwardly. "Um – please excuse my dreadful manners, sire!"

Chrom laughed out loud at Robin's confusion, "Chrom is fine! I've always disliked formalities."

Something suddenly clicked for Robin, "So this is what you meant when you said 'sacrifices for the realm!'"

Frederick smiled, "Yes. Enduring all the teasing is part of the job of a retainer."

"It looks like Emm's going back to the palace," Chrom noted. "You said you wanted as job? Because I happen to have a vacancy for a tactician in my personal guard."

"…You were planning this the entire time, weren't you?"

"You tell me. You're supposed to be the tactician!"

"You dastard!" Robin groaned, putting his head in his hands. "I showed my hand too early. You played me!"

"In my defense, I wasn't expecting to find a tactician when I helped a stranger on the side of the road! I saw someone who wanted to do some good, and I had the power to help them do so."

"… Fine. I accept that this is good for both of us, but don't think you can pull one over on me again!"

"Challenge accepted! Now do you want to see Emm or not?"

"…Yeah … Thanks, Chrom."

Chrom just waved him off, and began to lead him to the palace. Robin began to marvel at how many people this city seemed to hold. There were shops and markets everywhere, selling everything imaginable. Everyone seemed very friendly and happy while going about their day. Robin supposed that if Emmeryn was as amazing and ingenious as Chrom and Lissa were implying, then it was to be expected that Ylisstol didn't have very many problems. There were so many skilled craftsman working on tomes, weapons, food, clothing, paintings, music, and so many other goods that Robin couldn't even name. This in itself was enough to convince him that Ylisstol must hold a special place in the world.

As he approached the palace, the shops and apartments got more organized, eventually falling away as he climbed the hill to the walls of the palace itself. Robin stared in wonder at the walls at the castle, for they didn't seem to be imposing, or even divisive to him, but he held little doubt that they would strike fear of retribution into any fool attempting to destroy to such a prosperous land. He noticed that the guards gripped their spears a little tighter and assumed ready stances as he approached, but he was glad that the royal family had such attentive guards. _The exalted family is far to kind for their own good. If Chrom had found a Plegian sleeper agent in the field instead of me, he would have been done for! Perhaps fate is on their side, but a little bit of caution never hurts. Aaaaand now I sound like Frederick …_

Robin sighed, but the sound didn't go by unnoticed. "Something wrong, Robin?" inquired Chrom.

Robin pursed his lips. He thought that Chrom needed to hear a warning of caution from someone other than Frederick, but he felt that now wasn't the right time to tell him, "I'm fine. I want to discuss something with you, but it's going to be a long conversation. We should probably talk about it later, okay?"

Looking intrigued, Chrom nodded his head, before looking up at the vaulted ceilings, lost in thought. Curious, Robin asked, "Now it's my turn to ask you. Something wrong?"

Chrom kept looking up, but he smiled, "Nothing at all. I just think you'll like Emm."

Robin was not sure how to respond to that. Nodding his assent, he decided to try to create a mental map of the castle while they walked. However, he was unable to, as the passageways were winding and irregular in their intersections with one another. Instead he lost himself in the winding passageways of cold stone, lit by enormous windows by day, and he assumed torches by night. He appreciated the beauty of Castle Ylisstol, which was the perfect blend between the beauty of nature and man-made marvel, with plenty of enclosed courtyards, always filled with a little vegetation, almost to serve as a reminder so that those who resided here wouldn't forget the value of life in all its forms. _Such an ideology is so different than what I thought everyone believed. Wait … why did I think that? Who is 'everyone?'_ Suppressing the urge to take a few breaths to steady himself, he pressed on in his inquiry. _I must have grown up with a notion that either all life is worthless or human life is superior, as both of those would be different than the ideology presented here. But what conclusion can I draw from that? Clearly I didn't believe it, so who, if anyone, allowed me to separate my own opinions from the mandated ones?_

Before he finished this line of thought, Chrom announced, "We're here!"

This proclamation didn't stop Robin from walking right into the throne room door. He heard Chrom and Lissa try to smother their laughter as he howled in pain and clutched his face, hoping that nothing was bleeding. Through his giggles, Chrom raised an eyebrow at Robin, asking him if he was okay. Robin waved him off, stepped back, and composed himself so Frederick could open the doors.

The first thing he glimpsed was Exalt Emmeryn herself, but the aura she exuded was quite different than the one she presented to the public. When he had first seen her, she appeared regal and powerful, yet kind and warm. While she still had these characteristics, there was playfulness and amusement in her eyes as well. Robin was impressed that she maintained her own personality despite being a head of state. He thought that most heads of state often lost themselves in the persona they projected, but Emmeryn appeared different. Instead of faking a personality, she projected her own personality, with certain traits accented and others muted. He knew that the leaders who were able to do this were known as the great ones, as they were genuine. Despite the pressures of leadership, Emmeryn was still true to herself. This feat alone was enough for Emmeryn to earn Robin's respect and admiration.

After thinking all of this, Robin paused, astonished at what he just did. _I barely know her, and I come up with all of this? It can't be right … can it? Well, I suppose that sizing people up at a glance could be part of my hidden skill set. Most of these are assumptions anyway. Where on Earth did I learn to do that?_

What Robin didn't realize was that while he was reasoning this out, he froze in place, with his mouth hanging slightly agape. When Chrom noticed that his candidate for tactician wasn't by his side, he called his name to try to rouse him from his stupor. When that failed, he walked back, and waved his hands in front of Robin's eyes and snapped his fingers in front of his nose. Finally having enough, he grabbed his tactician by the shoulders, and began to shake him.

Robin leapt backward to escape the assault and ran right into the door that had just closed behind him. He managed to stay on his feet, but a stinging pain raced along his head and back like fire, "OW! I really hate that door. Dammit Chrom! What was that about?"

Trying not to laugh, Chrom replied, "Don't blame me for this! You just stopped there, stuck in some sort of trance. I was just trying to awaken you."

Robin opened his mouth to retort, but closed it, finding no justification. After a few times of repeating this process, he said, "There are better ways of doing that, you know. And a little bit of patience never hurt anyone."

When Robin heard the gentle laugh of the Exalt, he was reminded of where he was, why he was there, and whom he just decided to be snarky with.

"I can see why you picked him, Chrom," Emmeryn commented while smiling.

Chrom looked outraged, but Robin cut him off before he could say anything, "Er, your Grace? You know the reason of my visit?"

"Yes, Robin. My siblings briefly discussed their account of what has transpired since their discovery of you. Frederick also issued a warning, feeling the report incomplete without stating that while he believes your claim personally, there is no evidence beyond circumstantial to substantiate your claim."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Robin responded as he smiled wryly. Then, icy sweat began to trickle down his back as he realized he was being sassy with a superior again, "Er, forgive my impertinence, your Grace. I simply meant -"

"Robin, it's alright!" Emmeryn responded. "You should feel free to speak your mind in front of me."

"Right … thank you for understanding, your Grace. If I may inquire, have you reached a decision regarding my position yet?"

"We have. It seems that Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Robin. I appreciate all that you have done for Ylisse, and thank you for what you have done for our country Chrom, Lissa, your assessment of his character seems to be accurate, and I trust your judgment. If you think he will make a good tactician for the Shepherds, than I accept your proposal."

Relief swept through Robin's body as he head the words from the Exalt that guaranteed a future for him. However, there was a question he was burning to ask, "Um, your Grace? If you don't mind answering, why did you accept me?"

Robin jumped as a Falcon Knight he hadn't noticed before stepped forward, "Your Grace, the war council is assembled."

Emmeryn's lips thinned noticeably at the mention of war, "Thank you, Phila. Robin, I would be happy to answer that question, but I must postpone my answer. It is imperative that we deal with the multiple threats facing Ylisse and her people first. Chrom, would you like to join us for council?"

Lissa turned to Robin and grabbed his arm, "That's our cue. Now come on! There's something I want to show you!"

Robin barely had time to bid Chrom, Emmeryn, and Frederick goodbye before the energetic blonde dragged him out of the castle. As they worked their way out, Lissa mercifully slowed down just enough to allow Robin to gain his footing. Once he caught his breath, he asked, "So what is it that you want to show me?"

"You'll see!" she responded cryptically, clearly unable to wait to show Robin whatever it was that she wanted to show him.

As they raced through the city, Robin once again marveled at the magnificence that it presented. However, he was unable to enjoy it this time around, as Lissa insisted on running all the way to their destination.

During the race to wherever it was they were going, Robin was feeling unsettled at the lack of explanation the Exalt had given him for his appointment. He was also disturbed at the lack of testing he had been put through. _Why on Earth would she accept me? She could trust her brother's judgment while still assessing me herself. Perhaps I didn't earn this …. Maybe it was Chrom's influence that got me this …_

Lissa noticed his grim expression and slowed down a bit, "Robin? Are you okay?"

If he hadn't been breathing so hard, he would've sighed, "I'm just worried that I didn't earn the position. Maybe it was your influence on your sister that got me the job."

Lissa shook her head, "Nope. That's not how Emm does things. Ever. She respects our input, but if she appointed you to do something, you can bet she has her own reasons and convictions."

"But she just dodged the question when it came up!" Robin protested.

"When Emm says she'll do something, she'll do it. Just trust her," Lissa advised.

Despite the unease he felt, he decided to have faith in Lissa and Emmeryn. They continued for a few more minutes, eventually escaping the outer walls of the city. Although he still knew nothing about his past, he was able to infer that he didn't do anything physical because his legs were on fire and about to turn to jelly, and Lissa seemed content to continue jogging to their destination. Just when he was about to beg Lissa to slow down, she stopped before a plain, fairly large building and proclaimed, "We're here!"

Falling down on the grass, Robin panted, "Here? What's here? Where's here, for that matter?"

"The Shepherds' garrison!" Lissa exclaimed. She turned around and spotted him on the grass, "Oh, come on, you baby! It wasn't that far!"

Groaning in exhaustion, he sat up, "Not all of us have naturally huge amounts of energy to carry us through everything we do!" He frowned as he remembered her first words, "Wait, we have a garrison?"

"Of course we do, silly! Emm gave us this little area of land just outside Ylisstol so that Chrom could train the Shepherds as they began to grow into a larger group. I think she did it just so he's stop breaking stuff in the castle. It's not much, but it's plenty for running drills and training together. It can actually be quite fun!"

Finally gathering enough energy to rise, Robin replied, "You guys have way too much of a hold on your older sister. The amount of stuff she lets you guys have is astounding!"

"Oh yeah?" Lissa challenged. "Like what?"

"Like the private clubhouse, the weapons, the practice weapons, and a knight that doubles as a butler! Not to mention a personal tactician!"

"Hey! In addition to our day jobs, we get to go on missions to help Ylisseans who need it! And given how lawless it can get away from the capital, most of the things you mentioned are used quite often."

"… I noticed you didn't refute the clubhouse claim."

After sticking her tongue out at him, Lissa said, "So, you want to meet some of the Shepherds?"

Without awaiting his answer, Lissa took him by the arm and dragged him inside. He caught sight a woman with light brown, almost greyish, hair having a conversation with a blond, shirtless man. The woman seemed to be very shy and unsure of herself, but she seemed quite friendly and kind. As for the man, he seemed quite confident, boisterous, and friendly. As he made to greet them, he was distracted movement in the corner of his eye, and saw a large knight, almost completely encased in metal. However, when he blinked, the knight disappeared. _… Wow. I must be more tired than I thought! Now I'm hallucinating about metal men …_

When he turned his attention back to the center of the room, he caught sight of a blonde woman racing toward them, skidding to a halt before Lissa.

"Lissa! My treasure! All you all right?" she panted.

"Oh, hey Maribelle!" Lissa replied off-handedly.

Maribelle scowled, "Don't you 'oh hey' me! I sprouted fourteen grey hairs worrying over you! Fourteen!"

Lissa smiled at her, "Come on, you worry too much. I can handle a battle or two! Although I would've passed on the camping, bugs, and bear if I had the chance …"

Maribelle seemed to struggle internally before drawing Lissa into a hug, "Oh, how can I stay mad at that smile? Just make sure to bring me along next time, so I can watch your back!"

Robin was impressed that Lissa had managed to find such a devoted friend and considerate person as Maribelle. He wondered if all the Shepherds were as kind and considerate as the ones he had met already. At this point, he attempted to interject to introduce himself, but was interrupted by the shirtless man, "Hey there, short stuff! Be honest, how rough of a time did ol' Chrom have without Teach and his trusty axe?"

"So you're 'Teach' now, huh Vaike? What exactly are you teaching, because I thought it was impossible to teach idiocy?"

Vaike responded by flexing his muscles, "Ha! Never doubt the Vaike! … Wait, was that an insult?"

Vaike began to rub his chin, perplexed by Lissa's question. Robin was torn between amusement and horror as he began to realize that Vaike wasn't joking. However, there was a certain honestly about him despite his boastfulness that Robin couldn't help but admire.

"Er, excuse me, but where is the Captain? Is he okay?" the timid woman gently interjected.

Robin frowned at the mention of this unknown captain, but Lissa replied, "Aw! It's so kind of you to worry about Chrom, Sumia!"

Maribelle smiled, with a hint of mischief in her eyes, "Poor Sumia was simply beside herself with concern all day. Her eyes were ceaselessly scanning the horizon during training. She probably would've done better had she been blindfolded, but knowing that the Captain was safe."

Lissa, with the same mischievous look mirrored in her eyes and a grin mirroring that of a huntress cornering her prey, innocently inqured, "Oh, is that so? Do you have anything to say to this, Sumia?"

During their conversation, Sumia's face grew increasingly red, and she appeared to be resisting the urge to cover her cheeks. She began stuttering, her eyes torn between terror and defiance, and Robin was completely confused about what could cause such a reaction in a person. Just when he was about to ask if she was okay, Vaike asked, "So who's the new guy?"

After pausing for a second to recognize what he was talking about, Robin answered, "I'm Robin, your new tactician as appointed by Chrom. I was just assigned to the Shepherds."

At this point, Lissa snapped out of her predatory trance, and said, "Oh, yeah! I guess he did most of my work for me. Sorry about that, Robin! Seriously though, you should see the tricks Robin's got up his sleeves! He's definitely one clever dastard!"

Vaike seemed to take this as a personal challenge, "Sure, he can pull off some boring tricks, but can he do this?"

Seemingly from nowhere, Vaike let out an enormous belch that went on for a good fifteen seconds, managing to slowly climb and octave before finishing. This elicited laughter from Lissa, a look of bemusement and perplexion from Sumia, and a gasp of horror and disgust from Maribelle.

Robin, vaguely impressed at the level of control required to perform the feat, replied with a chuckle, "I'm sure that you're skills in the belching arts far surpass mine, 'Teach.' In any case, it's a pleasure to meet you all! I certainly look forward to working with you in the future!"

With her eyes full of fire, Maribelle whipped towards Vaike, "Ugh! How many times must I emphasize to you that such uncouth displays of bodily functions are quite disgusting and completely unwarranted? Must you continue to pollute even the air with your buffoonery, you gormless cretin? It's jesters like you that support my belief in the general inherent inferiority of the lowborn classes! It's a miracle that any exceptions exist to this rule since they're constantly surrounded by such vile behavior!"

Robin was astonished at the ferocity of her outburst. _Is she really upset with him over that?_

However, that was all Robin was able to think before Maribelle whirled upon him, "And you! Robin, was it? I don't know why you would encourage such base behavior! I had hoped you would be a gentlemen based on the praise my Lissa granted you, but she has always been too forgiving of the peasants. You will find no such grace from me!"

During the verbal assault, Robin instinctively raised his hands in front of his face to protect himself. When the torrent of words halted, he peeked through his fingers in time to see Maribelle stomp outside, slamming the door behind her. Robin coughed awkwardly as he began to question which side of Maribelle was true. _They say that the way a person treats their subordinates is indicative of their true character … but perhaps I shouldn't judge her so harshly. Not just yet anyway …_

Sumia shot him a sympathetic look, "Don't take what she said to heart, Robin. Maribelle distrusts all strangers, and she dislikes what she distrusts. She yelled at me the first time we spoke too, so believe me when I say that she gets better."

Lissa was just laughing at him, "Man, the facial expressions you make are the best! We should try to scare you more often! But yeah, Maribelle is a very protective person. Give her time to realize that you're not a threat, and you'll be fine! Probably."

At this point, the door opened, and Robin began to retreat, fearing Maribelle's return. However, Chrom strode through the door and greeted the group.

Sumia shot forward, "Ah! You've returned, Captain! I was - I mean – we, we were so – Argh!"

Sumia was unable to finish her sentence as she fell on the floor. Robin winced as she seemed to take the brunt of the impact with her face, but as she rose, she seemed to be okay. He looked at the floor, but frowned, as he couldn't find anything for her to have tripped on. Due to the mixture of chuckles and knowing smiles, Robin surmised that such occurrences were commonplace.

Chrom shook his head in disbelief, but smiled in amusement, "Are you alright, Sumia? Was it your boots again?"

Sumia began to brush herself off, and immediately started blushing, "No! I mean yes! I mean …" she trailed off, sighing in embarrassment.

Chrom gave her a sympathetic look before turning back to the rest of the group, "All right, everyone! Listen up! Tomorrow, we march for Regna Ferox to request aid in dealing with the numerous threats plaguing our kingdom. Traditionally, the Exalt would request for aid in person, but given the current state of affairs, she needs to remain in the capital to keep the citizens calm. This is why the task as been passed to us, but the mission is voluntary, as there should be minimal risk."

"I'll go!" Lissa exclaimed.

"Me too! You'll need Teach's charm to win over the Feroxi!" Vaike cheered, clapping Chrom on the back.

"I volunteer as well," said a voice in the corner. Robin barely managed to hear it, but he couldn't pinpoint the origin of the sound.

"I … um, I … er, Captain?" Sumia asked.

"Hm? What's wrong, Sumia?" Chrom responded.

She pursed her lips, looked at the floor, and began to blush, "Well, I'm just not sure I'm strong enough yet to go on a real mission. I'd probably just hold you up."

Chrom walked toward her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey! Don't think like that! If you ask me, you're plenty strong to go on a mission with us. If you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to fight. You can stay behind the main group and observe to get the feel of battle. However, I would recommend fighting as soon as you feel ready. There are some things that you can only learn on the battlefield! Just stick by me, and you'll be fine."

"Oh! Yes! I – I mean, thank you, Captain. I'll be sure to do that!" she beamed at Chrom.

They stared into each other's eyes for a few more moments before remembering themselves. Sumia blushed and looked away, and Chrom removed his hand and stepped back, cheeks reddening slightly. This bizarre reaction drew the tactician's interest. _There's something about those two ... are they into each other? That would certainly explain a lot of Sumia's behavior, and Chrom does seem to reciprocate. Hmmm. I'll definitely have to figure this one out …_

"Robin!" Chrom yelled, jolting the tactician out of his momentary mental lapse.

"… This is going to become a thing, isn't it?" Robin replied dryly.

Chrom grinned back, "It certainly appears so. Would you consider coming? It would be nice to have a tactician on the way. Political strategy and war tactics aren't very different after all."

"Mind telling me what Regna Ferox is first, and what sort of aid we're trying to secure? I do still have amnesia …"

Chrom's lips thinned, "Constantly irritating the guy you keep asking for answers isn't the best idea. It certainly doesn't make me WANT to help you …"

Sumia broke in, "Oh, don't be so hard on him, Captain! The poor man has no memory! I'd be happy to help you in any way I can, Robin!"

"Thank you, Sumia! I'd be honored to accept," Robin answered. "See, Chrom? A little bit of patience goes a long way …"

"But – but – that's not fair, and you know it!" Chrom stuttered.

"Wait, you don't remember anything? Than how do you know your name is Robin?" Vaike interjected.

"Well, that's actually the only thing from my old life that I remember."

"Since you don't remember anything, how can you be sure? None of us remember you from back then. You should just pick a new name to go with your new life. Something cool. How about Vaike Junior? Not as awesome as the Vaike or Teach, but still pretty awesome!"

"… While you raise some startlingly accurate points, I like the sound of Robin. While it might be wrong, it still feels right to me."

"Eh. Your loss!"

"Hold on a second! I'm trying to brief our tactician!" Chrom exclaimed, mildly irritated with his team's antics.

He sighed, and returned his attention back to Robin, "So, anyway, Regna Ferox is a kingdom warriors to the north. Emm says that they're quite skilled and would definitely be a good ally to have in the troubling times that we're facing currently."

Robin grinned, "Sounds like fun! Count me in!"

Chrom sighed in relief, "Alright! Well, I'm off to spread the word. If you see any other Shepherds, let them know about the mission. I'll see you all here bright and early, as it's a fairly long march to Ferox. Do any of you want to help me out?"

"Sure thing!" Lissa replied, and sprung up, once again eager to help.

Vaike stuck his tongue out at Chrom, "Nah. I'm gonna go lift some weights. This magnificent physique didn't just happen by itself! Yeah, Vaike!"

With that, Vaike exited the barracks. After chuckling at Vaike's antics again, Robin replied, "It seems you have a fair amount of books here. I'll just read some, try and catch up on stuff that I've forgot."

Sumia looked torn, but ultimately said, "I'd love to, Captain, but I did promise Robin that I'd help him with his studies."

Robin immediately felt guilty, "Seriously, Sumia, you don't have to do that! I can probably just teach myself."

Sumia smiled at him, "Nonsense! You'll get lonely among all those books if you're not careful!"

Chrom smiled, but Robin was able to spot a hint of disappointment, "Very well, Sumia. Your kindness never ceases to impress me."

After a beat, they both began to blush very noticeably. Robin raised an eyebrow at Chrom, and smirked, quite sure of his intentions now. Chrom cleared his throat, "Well, we should head out now if we want to track everyone down. Let's go, Lissa!"

She tried to protest, but he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out. Shaking his head at his friends' amusing behavior, he turned back to Sumia, "So, what do you think I should learn before we march tomorrow?"

Sumia blinked, "Huh? Oh, yeah! Well, what do you know already? I don't want to waste your time by accidentally teaching you something you already know."

Robin frowned, "Well, that's kind of tricky. It appears that I retained a fair amount of procedural knowledge, and a little bit of factual knowledge. The procedural stuff I remember are things like fighting, walking, and stuff like that. The factual knowledge for me seems to be limited to tactics and sorcery. I was able to recall this knowledge only after I was prompted, though."

Sumia began to twirl her hair in thought, "So, do you just want to go through the basics? You can just tell me if you think you start to remember something, and we can just to a quick review to ensure that you remembered all part of it."

"Okay! And thanks again for your help. I know you wanted to help Chrom," Robin stated, implying his apology.

"Oh, it's no problem at all! I actually like reading, so this is a bit of a treat for me," Sumia replied, moving to a desk in the corner of the room.

Robin and Sumia quickly established that he retained fundamental knowledge on a fairly large amount of subjects ranging from mathematics to finance to political theory. However, it seemed to be more difficult for him to recall more advanced facets of most subjects, with the notable exceptions of tactics. The theoretical aspects of swordplay and magic were definitely coming back as well, but they were doing so much more slowly than his tactical knowledge. It appeared that he had no knowledge of history or current events beyond what he was exposed to already.

"Wow, Robin!" Sumia exclaimed. "How on earth do you know so much stuff?"

Robin blushed, "It's really not that much! Besides, I'm sure that I wouldn't have remembered it nearly as quickly without your help."

Sumia smiled sweetly at him, "That's sweet of you, Robin, but I know almost nothing about sorcery, tactics, or swordplay. I was quite useless when it came to those subjects."

"I didn't know what we were looking for either! Besides, that stuff would've come back sooner or later. You made sure I knew all the important things!"

"Oh, don't be silly! I thought I knew a lot because I read so much, but you must have done some serious studying somewhere in your past."

"You said that before. What do you read?"

"Oh, I read everything! It's one of the few things that I'm really good at! I truly love reading novels though."

"Oh? Perhaps you wouldn't mind recommending one? It would be nice to read something before bed sometimes."

"Hmmm. How about Shanty Pete and the Haunted Pirates? That one was thrilling! It kept me up for a whole week straight!"

"Yeah … um, I think I've had just about enough horror. You know, with the zombies and everything?"

"O – Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry. Um, how about, uh, A Simpleton's Guide to Pegasus Care? I found that one fascinating! There's so many things about pegasi that I didn't know before!"

"Er, I was hoping for something with a story in it to begin. I do love learning new things, but I did want to rest my brain before bed."

"Ah, yes. I remember now. Haha! Um, how about Wyvern Wars: Terror at High Noon? I've been meaning to read that one!"

"… Did you have something a little more … I don't know, relaxing?"

"Oh, Pegasus poop! I'm so useless! I can barely keep up with you even though you have amnesia, and now I can't even help you pick out a book! Useless, useless, useless! It's so easy, but I'm so darn useless!" Sumia exclaimed. She began to sniffle and tear up.

Robin's eyes widened at the outburst, and after a moment's hesitation, placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey! Sumia, please don't cry! You've been a great help to me in my studies. In fact, it would be quite fun if we read the books together once we got some free time. And I've changed my mind about the Wyvern Wars one. It sounds awesome, with terror and high noon and everything!"

Sumia sniffled again, wiping her eye, "Really? Are you sure you want to?"

Robin smiled at her, "Really. I may not have time for a while, but I'll be sure to do so when I do."

She smiled at him through her watery eyes, "Oh, I'm so happy I could help! I hope you like it!"

She glanced outside, and gasped. Robin followed her gaze, and realized that the sun had set a while ago and the moon seemed to be rising. "Wow!" Robin commented. "It's this late already? We sure spent a lot of time in those books, didn't we?"

Sumia giggled, "We sure did! I wonder how neither of us noticed that the light was dimming! Well, I should be heading home now. Do you have somewhere to stay?"

Robin frowned, "Um, not really. I didn't think about it until just now. I'll just stay here and sleep on the couch, I guess."

"You'd be welcome to say with me if you want!" Sumia offered. "I know you don't know me very well, but I'd like to think that we're friends!"

Robin was touched by the offer, and grinned, "Thanks for offering Sumia, but I'd feel terrible imposing on you like that! Seriously, I'll just stay here since I'd just have to come back in the morning anyway. Besides, I don't think Chrom would mind."

"Okay. I don't want to force you. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" Sumia said.

"Until then!" Robin replied and waved goodbye as she exited.

Standing up from the desk and stretching, Robin took a few deep breaths to try to calm his mind and process the long day he just had. Lying down on the couch, he wrapped his coat around him like he did the previous night. _Wow! If a couch is this comfortable compared to the ground, I wonder what a real bed feels like!_

He shifted his thoughts to analyzing everything that he could remember. _So I'm a Shepherd now. It certainly feels nice to be a part of a community. I wouldn't know what I would've done with myself if Chrom hadn't taken me in. Chrom has an interesting taste in friends, but they all seem like good people. I still can't believe he's the prince of the realm. What are the chances of him, of all people, finding me in that field? That's fate for you, I guess._

At the mention of fate, Robin sighed at his amnesia. _What possible designs could fate have for inflicting me with such a disease? Why in Naga's name would this happen? I have no signs of head trauma (note to self: thank Sumia for the first aid book) so what could have caused this? If it's magic, I can't sense any residual energy. Speaking of magic, there has been no advancement on the Marth front or the portal front._

Robin sighed once again in frustration. _Why, oh why, is my life so complicated? At least I have more friends to help me keep everything straight._ At this comforting thought, Robin emptied his mind and succumbed to the exhaustion he felt, allowing the warm embrace of sleep to grip him once more.


	5. The March North

**Chapter 5: The March North**

 **A/N: Hello again! Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! It's always brings me joy to see that people enjoy this story as much as I do. I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations. Thanks again for reading, and as always, have a GREAT day!**

Robin was having a pleasant, peaceful time wandering around the woods surrounding Ylisstol. While he enjoyed the Shepherds' company, they could get a little noisy sometimes. He had decided to go on a walk, hoping that a little bit of nature and fresh air would help him clear his head. He felt the sunshine warm his head and back, and he tried to lose himself in the sensation to gain a little peace before turning his mind back to business.

He began to reflect upon the monsters he had faced not long ago, in hopes of better understanding the terrifying new menace they all were facing. _They have dark magic in them, that's for sure. It certainly takes a powerful sorcerer to reanimate dead bodies, especially to the extent that we've seen. There's a number of possibilities regarding who's responsible for this plague of monsters. The worst part of it all is that there's no definitive way to determine who's done it. Plegia has much to benefit from a weakening of Ylissean forces, but it's not enough to pin blame on them. It could easily be a mage in Ylisse who's just trying to prompt the Exalt to go to war with Plegia._ Robin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to drive away the headache that this situation was causing.

All of a sudden, the sky turned dark. Robin frowned and went for his tome, but found that he had neither it nor his sword. Feeling a shiver shoot its way down his back, he called out, "Who's there?"

There was no answer, but Robin could sense a malignant presence watching him. He slowly turned around, and began to slowly start his way back to Ylisstol, keeping alert for any signs of threats. Just as he turned his back to the presence, he heard a rustling of leaves. He whirled around in hopes to catch a glimpse of his pursuer, but all he was able to detect was a flash of metal. Truly scared now, he began to back up more quickly, "Chrom, if this is a prank, it's really not funny."

In the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red and the sound of a sword being drawn. Turning towards it, he saw a reanimated swordsman lunge for him. He wasn't able to dodge in time, feeling the cold steel bite into his shoulder. Crying out in pain, he shoved the swordsman away and yanked the blade out of his arm, dashing away from the menace. He heard thundering footsteps, indicating a large group of monsters following him. He thanked Naga that he was able to keep ahead of them, and he burst out into the clearing around the walls of Ylisstol, preparing to warn the guards on duty. However, as he glanced behind him, he saw something that chilled him to his very core: the monsters were riding wolves. They easily caught up to him, and he managed to block a few lance swings before being disarmed. The last thing he felt was shock as the monsters and the wolves seemed to grin, mocking his useless attempts at defense just before a lance entered his heart.

At this, Robin shot upright, "BWARGH! ZOMBIES! WOLVES! ZOMBIES RIDING WOLVES!"

Robin rolled off the couch and crashed to the floor with a resounding bang. He tried to jackknife to his feet, but he was so disoriented, he just fell down again. However, he was so anxious, he was unable to feel the pain. This time, he rolled to his knees before standing, "I've got to … got to … wait …"

Robin looked around and saw that he was surrounded by weapons, bookshelves, and a desk. _How the hell did I get in here?_ _Where am I?_ He took a deep breath to try to make sense of his surroundings. _Oh. OH! This is the Shepherds' garrison! That must have been a dream! … That makes a lot more sense, now that I think about it._

As his heart rate began to slow, Robin heard something else. High-pitched laughter, occasionally punctuated by snorts seemed to be coming from behind him. Robin knew who it was even before he turned around, with a scowl already adorning his face. As he suspected, the princess of the realm was on the floor, rolling around with tears running down her face, shrieking in amusement. He began tapping his foot in impatience, but this only seemed to make her laugh harder. It took a few minutes for her to calm down enough for Robin to make himself heard above her laughing, "… Why?"

After attempting, and failing, to suppress her giggles, she managed to choke out, "It was too perfect! I really tried to resist, but come on! I bet you would've done the same thing if you were me!"

"No, I wouldn't! Because believe it or not, I actually have respect for sleeping people!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby! All I did was hold your nose for a bit!"

"So that's what you did! I was having such a pleasant dream, and then you went and ruined it for me!"

"'Zomies riding wolves' doesn't sound pleasant!"

"It was very nice before that, and I'm sure the sudden change was your fault! Didn't your parents teach you better?"

At this comment, Lissa winced, and she looked away, "I – I didn't really know my parents. They – they died before I could really remember anything …"

Although Robin couldn't see her eyes, he was sure she was just on the verge of crying. A nauseating sense of guilt settled in the pit of his stomach, as he was horrified at what he'd done, "I'm sorry! I didn't know. … In a sense, I suppose we're similar. I still can't remember my past, and that includes my parents. I don't even remember being a kid. My first memory is waking up to see you and Chrom standing over me."

Lissa looked up at him, and Robin saw that there was sympathy mixed in with her pain. "Now it's my turn to apologize," she replied, with a watery smile.

"Don't worry about it!" Robin responded. "It's my fault anyway! Not remembering anything just leaves me with a maddening curiosity. There's no happiness, but there's also no sadness or pain. Your case is entirely different. You can still feel the pain of what happened. I'll there for you, if you need it. I really didn't mean what I said. You and your brother gave me this life. I would be nothing without either of you, so if there's anything that you need, just let me know."

"You know, mister, you should stop trying to help people so much and take care of yourself first. These are old hurts, and I'm well on my way to coming to terms with them. You still have a long way to go!"

Robin laughed so loudly that it resonated around the room, "You know, you're not wrong! I'll get to work on it as soon as my new home is safe. How does that sound?"

"That's good enough for me. Hug it out?"

Robin smiled, and replied, "Hug it out." Robin felt a pleasant feeling in his heart that he recalled was belonging as he embraced Lissa. It took him a while to remember that such a feeling occurs when you are with someone you care about. _Seriously, what would I have done if I had to fend for myself? It's like they're already my family … I just hope I'm worthy of them._

As they released each other, Lissa was cheerful again. However, Robin felt as if they were forgetting something, "Hey, Lissa? What did you come in here for?"

Lissa's eyebrows shot up as she remembered, "I completely forgot! We're preparing for the march! Chrom sent me to wake you up after Sumia told him that you stayed in the garrison. We should go!"

"Okay! Just let me gather some things."

Robin quickly grabbed his tome and sword. He looked around the room before shrugging and turning back to Lissa, "I guess I don't have a lot of things."

Lissa giggled, "Come on, silly! We got you some basic supplies and other tactician-y stuff!"

"You didn't need to do that!" Robin protested.

"It's no trouble at all! You are our tactician." Lissa replied.

As they headed outside, Lissa frowned, "Hang on a second. I remember what else I was going to ask you. Why didn't you come back to the castle? You would've been welcome, you know!"

Robin sighed in exasperation, "I get the feeling that Chrom will ask me the same question, so I'll postpone on answering it for now. That way, you both can lecture me at the same time."

Robin found Chrom at the head of the Shepherds with Vaike, Sumia, and an unknown knight dressed in green, with a sword hanging at his side, talking animatedly to the others. As he walked up, he managed to hear the end of their conversation, " … and then I realized that I needed to report here straightaway if I was to make it in time! And that's how Vaike made me miss the most beautiful breakfast I've ever seen!"

Sumia and Chrom busted out laughing, and Vaike was grinning unabashedly, "Come on, Stahl! Don't blame the Vaike for not getting the word out! Wasn't that ol' Chrom's job anyway?"

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he turned to Vaike, "Yes, but if you recall, you told me that you saw Stahl, which is why I didn't bother to tell him about it. I assumed you told him already!"

"Well, yeah, but without any prompting, how's Teach supposed to remember? Stahl, ol' buddy, you gotta help me out and stay on top of your game!"

Stahl chucked at this response, "Vaike, I asked you if there was anything new I should know about because I hadn't checked in yet!"

"That didn't happen! … Oh wait, it did. While the Vaike never forgets, he doesn't always remember. You can't rely on him to be perfect all the time, you know?"

Lissa interjected to make her and Robin's presence known, "Vaike, I'm pretty sure you've forgotten you ax at least a few times before …"

Vaike's indignant expression elicited another round of laughter, "Hey now! That only happened one time! Okay, maybe twice … but practices don't count! Besides, I've got it right here!"

Vaike patted the handle for emphasis, and Robin saw it wiggle around on contact. He frowned at this, almost certain that it would fall, but he decided that even if Vaike wasn't the most intellectually inclined, he should at least respect his professionalism and expertise with his weapon. Putting the problem out of his mind, he turned to the green knight, "So you're name is Stahl, right?"

He beamed at Robin in response, "Yeah! And you're Robin? The new tactician Miriel was taking about?"

"Precisely! Er, who is Miriel, though?"

"Oh! Sorry! Miriel's one of our mages. She said she'd be late, but she'd catch up with us soon."

"Speaking of missing people, where's Frederick? I didn't think he'd leave Chrom or Lissa alone for such a long period of time!"

Chuckling, Stahl replied, "He's just gathering the rest of our supplies before we head out."

At that moment, Robin heard a horse galloping towards them. Turning around, he saw a familiar knight in blue armor.

"Speak of the devil!" Chrom chuckled. "Hey Frederick! Is everything ready?"

Frederick reigned in his horse, stopping before the group, "Yes milord. At your command, we will begin our march to Ferox."

"Alright everyone! Let's go get this alliance!" Chrom proclaimed, eliciting a cheer from all the people present.

As they all began the march to Ferox, Chrom dropped back to walk with Robin. He turned to his friend, "You know why I want to talk, don't you?"

Robin sighed, "Look, Chrom, I've accepted too much of your hospitality already. You've given me protection, a job, and friendship, and I feel guilty enough for making you go out of your way to do all of that! I would prefer to help carry my own weight wherever I can, even if that means sleeping at the garrison until I can find my own permanent arrangements."

A familiar voice spoke from Robin's side, "But that's just it, Robin! You're our friend. We don't want to abandon you, especially if it's in our power to help you fix your problems!"

Robin sighed even deeper this time, turning to Lissa, "It just wouldn't be right for me to live in the castle without having done anything to earn it first. I wouldn't mind accepting your hospitality if I'd proven myself!"

"But you have!" Chrom protested. "You defended innocents of the realm at our side! You risked your life for our countrymen multiple times, and you should be rewarded for such valor. And if that's not enough for you, you'll probably continue risking your life for Ylisse given your current line of work."

"But- "

"No! Stop being so stubborn for once and accept the thanks of the country you'll be protecting!"

Robin shook his head, and attempted to reply again, but Lissa cut him off, "He's right you know! Of course, he shouldn't lecture you about being stubborn given how stubborn HE is- "

"Hey!" Chrom interjected.

"- but you really should let us help."

For the third time in as many minutes, Robin sighed and smiled in defeat, "You won't give it up until I accept, will you?"

"Nope!" both royal siblings exclaimed in union.

"Okay. I'll stay in the castle from now on."

"Yay!" Lissa exclaimed. "Now on to the next order of business: trying to find a way to get a frog into Stahl's armor."

Both Robin and Chrom have her funny looks. "It's just a prank!" Lissa indignantly defended herself. "It's not like I'm hexing him! You guys take life to seriously."

As she walked away in search of her prey, Chrom shook his head, amusement written all over his face.

"Does this happen often?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. As you've probably noticed, many of the Shepherds can be quite, er, colorful characters, but they don't mean any harm. I don't really mind, so as long as no permanent damage is caused to anyone."

"… Right. So this is more of a para-military organization than anything, isn't it?"

Chrom frowned at this statement, "Are you saying my personal guard isn't professional?"

Robin gestured to his left, drawing Chrom's attention to a squirming Stahl being pinned by Sully to try to remove the frog from his armor, with Lissa standing a few feet away, laughing so hard that tears were running down her cheeks.

Chrom pursed his lips, "… We don't follow traditional military rules as we're under my direct supervision."

As Chrom and Robin looked back, they saw a triumphant Sully throw the frog back at Lissa, a groaning Stahl complaining about his back, Vaike hitting the aforementioned back to help it feel better, and Frederick watching from a few feet away shaking his head in disapproval. As they looked back at each other, they both burst into laughter at the ludicrousness of the situation.

They continued marching for a while, passing the time with conversation. Robin was amazed at how comfortable all the Shepherds felt with one another. _With the exception of Maribelle, no one seems to care about class, gender, or even social rank. I never though such equality was even possible! I wonder what principles Chrom found in each of them that allowed them to function as complete equals …_

Robin felt someone tapping his shoulder, jolting him out of his train of thought. He leapt backward in astonishment, eliciting giggles from the cause of the disturbance.

"Seriously, Robin," Sumia chided, "You should figure out how to think and pay attention to your surroundings at the same time. You seem to live in your head half the time!"

Still disoriented, Robin shook his head to clear it, "Sumia? When did you get here? Wasn't Chrom there just a minute ago?"

Chuckling, Sumia replied, "He started chasing after Lissa for putting a frog down his shirt. See?"

Looking at where Sumia was pointing, Robin saw Lissa was busy trying to evade Chrom's grasp, aided by the amphibian in his shirt that Robin assumed was responsible for the new twitch that he had developed. Suprisingly, the cackling Lissa managed to stay one step ahead of him, to Chrom's great irritation.

Laughing at the sight, Robin turned back toward Sumia, "I'm definitely going to be a target sometime soon, aren't I?"

"Probably!" Sumia responded, snickering at the thought. "So how was your night at the garrison? I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable …"

"Honestly, there's no way for me to tell," Robin mused. "The couch felt amazing, but that's probably because I have only the ground to compare it to. I wonder what a real bed would feel like."

"They feel amazing!" Sumia exclaimed, excited to be of service once again. "If it's a good bed, it can be like you're sleeping on a cloud! If it's bad it can be tough and lumpy in places, but it's nice to sleep on something softer than a bunch of rocks."

Robin smiled in relaxation at the thought, "Ahh! That sounds amazing, especially after a long day's march."

"It sure is!" said Sumia. "A hot bath certainly goes a long way as well!"

For some reason, Robin blushed and looked away at this comment. Mystified, Sumia inquired, "Robin? Is something wrong? Ohmigosh, was it something I said?"

"No! It's just … I didn't think to heat the water." Robin replied, grinning and flushing an even deeper red. "I tried taking a bath last night when I woke up in the middle of the night. I remembered that it was a rather important hygiene activity that I had forgotten to do, so I figured it would take care of it. I gathered the water and started washing, but it was so cold I thought I was never going to get back to sleep! I knew I was doing something wrong, I just know what! I feel like a complete idiot!"

Sumia just stared at Robin, her lips twitching. "I – I'm sure that's a common misunderstanding …" she replied, her voice shaking with the effort of not laughing.

Robin groaned, and rolled his eyes. "Just get it over with," he muttered.

Sumia cackled so loudly that everyone in the vicinity seemed to turn towards them, curious at what was happening. Robin prayed to all the gods that they would turn away from them, and by some miracle, they returned to their business.

Turning back to Sumia, he saw tears beginning to leak from her eyes from the force of her laughter. "I know it's odd, but there's no way it's that funny," he replied indignantly.

After a few minutes longer, she managed to calm down enough to reply, "Your distribution of knowledge is just bizarre! You are probably one of the smartest people I know, but you don't remember how to take a bath properly!"

At this, she entered another round of shrieking laughter. Robin was very tempted to pull up his hood to cover his face, but he felt he should at least face his humiliation with honor. Attempting to change the subject, he prompted, "So Sumia? How's the combat practice going?"

The smile melted off her face, and she immediately became nervous. Concerned by this reaction, Robin said, "Hey! I didn't mean to upset you! The others are rather obvious in their specializations, but I can't really tell with you."

Sumia sighed, "I don't know. I think we're still trying to determine my strengths." A bitter laugh fell from her lips, "More like trying to find a strength."

Feeling guilty about bringing her such pain, Robin replied, "Hey! There's plenty of stuff you're good at! I know it! And even if it takes more time and energy for you, I've never seen such determination in anyone. With a work ethic like that, you can easily accomplish, and even surpass anyone! When compared to will, talent is nothing."

Sumia gave him a weak smile, "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Robin, but you should hold off on such predictions until you see me fight. It'll probably take me an entire century to get good enough to actually help anyone!"

Robin tried to counter this point, but she cut him off, "I know you'll just keep encouraging me, but I want such praise to be earned. I won't accept it until then!"

"… So you admit that you have potential? And plan to develop it to be the best you can be? Because you did say 'until' …"

Tears began to well up in her eyes, "But what if my best isn't good enough?"

Robin grinned, "Sumia, the only limits we have are the ones we put on ourselves. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything! The very Shepherds you serve with are a reminder of that!"

Sumia conceded the point while fighting a smile, "Alright. Thanks for helping me see straight again."

"It's always hard to look at ourselves objectively," Robin replied. "Most of us magnify our flaws and we end up feeling far inferior to who we actually are."

Sumia sniffled, and wiped the tears out of her eyes, "Seriously though, where did you learn stuff like this?"

"Chrom, mostly," Robin replied. "That man believes in everyone. Heck, he knew me for all of five minutes, and he let me come up with a plan to lead him, his sister, and his retainer and good friend into battle. He fully believes that anyone can accomplish great things, and that everyone is equal. It's not a popular belief from what I can tell, but it just feels right. You know?"

"Yeah," Sumia sighed. "Yeah I do."

She stared off in Chrom's direction for a while, with a faraway look in her eyes. Robin raised an eyebrow, and couldn't help but smirk as his new friends. _They're definitely crushing on each other. … I'll just watch for now. I'll provide help only if they need it! Oh, there'll be so much teasing material …_

Sumia eventually blushed and turned back to Robin as she realized that she'd been staring for quite a while now. She blushed an even deeper red as Robin waggled his eyebrows at her, but she giggled at his silly expression.

She cleared her throat, "Anyway, I've figured out that I'm best with a spear, but other than that, we have no idea what to do with me. The biggest problem seems to be my dislike of heavy armor, essentially ruling out being a knight, mounted or otherwise. It just slows me down too much because I don't have the strength to both wear it and wield a spear."

Robin refocused his attention on helping advise Sumia, "That sounds like an interesting predicament. Have you tried –"

"Robin! There are Risen up ahead!" a voice called.

Robin turned toward the noise to see Chrom sprinting back towards him.

"Risen?" Robin inquired.

"That's the name we gave those eldritch abominations in council yesterday."

"I guess we'll have to finish this conversation later," Robin responded to Sumia.

He quickly surveyed the battlefield. He saw the Risen horde begin advancing toward them, but they seemed to be doing so haphazardly and without purpose. Noting the terrain, he turned to the Shepherds to give the battle plan, "Alright guys!"

"And girls!" Sully interjected, brandishing her lance at him.

"And girls,"Robin amended. "This is a very open battlefield, with very few places to take a defensive stance. Even though we're outnumbered, we won't need to."

Frederick showed some signs of discomfort, and Robin gestured for him to speak his mind, "Er, Robin, isn't it unconventional to take the offensive if outnumbered? Wouldn't it be better to draw them towards us and deal with them as we can?"

"If we weren't pressed for time and on an open field, then I would agree with you!" Robin replied. "However, time is of the essence in this deal with Ferox. Also, there is very little terrain that we hold to aid in a defensive play. All terrain of that type are currently held by the Risen. I suggest that we send Chrom and I to attack in the middle, and have the cavalry watch the sides, ready to flank the Risen drawn in to surround us. It'll take a little bit of timing to pull this off without us getting overwhelmed, but it should work out as long as everyone is paying attention. Sully, Stahl, and Vaike, watch the right. Frederick and Lissa, take our left. Virion, I want you to watch our backs, sniping anyone you can. Chrom and I will protect you from enemies that get too close. At the bridge in the middle, we should reassume formation and apply the same strategy on the second side of the bridge. Do not engage the Chief until the rest of the area has been cleared. We figured out that he's rarely as tough as he looks, but that's no excuse for carelessness."

"Robin," Chrom interrupted, "I know I'm not an authority here, but why are we using the same strategy twice? Won't they be ready for it?"

"First," Robin addressed, "They seem to be pretty mindless to me. If they're acting on instinct, then they should respond the same. Even if they're not, splitting their forces works in our favor, as their flanks will be vulnerable as they try to pass us to get to the cavalry, allowing us to put a dent in their numbers freely."

Chrom chuckled, "And this is why you're the tactician. Any other objections?"

Everyone remained silent, so Chrom continued, "Alright then. Let's send these abominations back where they belong!"

Everyone cheered and pounded their weapons and feet as they organized themselves into their respective groups. Robin took a deep breath in through his nose, and let it out through his mouth before drawing his tome with his left hand, and allowing his right to brush the hilt of the bronze sword he carried.

As Robin and Chrom were preparing to charge, someone exclaimed, "HEY! Hold on a second!"

Robin whirled around, his outstretched hand crackling with arcane power, and Chrom picked up his sword to a ready stance. However, instead of a threat, they just saw Vaike running around in circles, waving his arms frantically. Sighing simultaneously, Robin released the magic and Chrom let the tip of his sword fall to his side. "What's the matter?" Chrom inquired.

"My ax!" Vaike yelled. "I can't find that damnable ax!"

Chrom blinked, "You – you're joking. Right?"

"I swear it was here just a minute ago!" Vaike grumbled.

"Then stay back!" Chrom ordered. "The battle is nigh!"

Vaike groaned, but obeyed, jogging in position behind Virion. As Robin watched Vaike, he saw Virion staring at him. However, Virion looked away without any reaction, leaving Robin to ponder whether or not it actually happened. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned back toward the Risen.

"Ready?" Chrom muttered.

"Let's go." Robin answered.

And with that, they both charged forward into the fray. As the Risen charged to meet them, Robin shot a ball of lightning at an enemy swordsman. His shot went wide, completely missing the target.

"Nice shot," Chrom snickered.

Irritated, Robin decided to take his frustration out by cleaving an enemy lancer's spear in two before cutting his head off. "Hey! It's not easy to hit every shot! And I don't see you even trying to use a ranged weapon!"

"It's just not my thing," Chrom responded while blocking two sword strikes and kicking a Risen axman in the gut.

Robin quickly drew his tome and electrocuted the Risen before it could take a retaliatory swipe, "They don't feel pain, remember?"

Chrom rolled his eyes while dodging a lance tip and stabbing the offending Risen in the chest, "I know! Thanks, mother…"

Robin switched back to a sword while dodging an ax swing, "And don't think I've forgotten about that ranged weapon thing! You probably couldn't hit the long side of the castle with a bow, and there's no way you'd have the patience to learn any magic at all!"

Chrom shrugged after blocking the tip of a sword meant for Robin, "I prefer to get up close and personal with my enemies. Is that such a bad thing?"

Robin sighed in frustration as he finished off the man, "If you won't answer my question, then I'll just have to ask someone else. Lissa would seem like an appropriate choice, don't you think? She seems open enough to embarrassing her brother at every opportunity …"

Chrom flushed red in embarrassment, and opened his mouth to reply, but a soft voice behind both of them asked, "Milord?"

Both Chrom and Robin let out high-pitched squeals and leapt into the air, drawing their swords in unison.

They were faced with an amused Frederick raising an eyebrow, and a cackling Lissa, with her laughter occasionally punctuated by a snort. Both blushing, they sheathed their swords. "I would advise that you leave this argument for off the battlefield. While the immediate area is clear, nothing is assured until victory is claimed," Frederick lectured whilst smirking.

"Er, thanks for the advice Frederick," Chrom answered, again abashed.

Robin turned toward the rest of the battlefield to see Sully and Stahl handily dispatching a remaining group of Risen with Virion's aid. Vaike was sulking moodily behind them, most likely upset that he wasn't able to fight the monsters.

"Hey," Robin realized. "Why didn't Virion help us?"

"He did!" Lissa replied. "You just didn't realize it."

Robin and Chrom both responded in disbelief, "Huh?" But they nonetheless examined the battlefield for evidence of Lissa's claim, and found many arrows, some broken, laying around the battlefield, some still lodged in the partially dissolving bodies of the remaining Risen.

"Welp! That certainly explains why that was shorter than expected," Robin remarked, feeling rather foolish.

He noticed the others heading their way, so he responded, "Let's get to the bridge and form up again. We've still got to get through the other side."

The others responded affirmatively and they set off for the bridge, meeting up with the others. "So how'd it go?" Robin inquired.

"No trouble here," Frederick replied.

"Just with they were better fighters! At least then I could have some fun when I kill them … again," Sully grunted.

"Providing long-range support is quite a simple task for someone like me," Virion bragged.

"Alright. I guess we'll stick to the same plan then. Remember –"

"HOLD!" a voice exclaimed, causing everyone to draw their weapons.

A woman in reflective glasses was hurrying toward them. However, she was greatly slowed because she was lugging a large ax with her. _Why in Naga's name would she be carrying that thing around? I'm surprised she could lift it_! _Also, why do I keep getting interrupted?_

Given how the Shepherds relaxed and sheathed their weapons, Robin assumed that this person was an ally. Her clothing implied that she was a mage, but he could see no tome indicating her choice of magic.

Despite her apparent exhaustion, she spoke with a cool, crisp tone, "It appears that I've arrived in the middle of a battle. My apologies for not arriving earlier. This delay was caused by some manner of ignoramus discarding his weapon on the side of the road."

"Hey! My ax!" Vaike cheered, and made to snatch the ax from the mage. She somehow managed to shift it so it would remain out of his reach.

"If I am forced to drag this infernal weapon around for you again, I will permanently attach it to your arm via a curse. Do you understand?" the mage blandly stated.

Vaike scratched his head, "Ya know Miriel, the Vaike don't understand half the things you say. I'm just grateful you found my trusty ol' ax!"

Miriel relinquished the ax, and pulled out a tome from her robes, "I believe we have a new tactician? What strategy has been laid out for us?"

Robin cleared his throat, "Er, that would be me. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miriel, but I'm afraid we still have a bit of battle left before us. Um, is that a fire tome?"

"Affirmative," she replied.

"Right then. Since Vaike can fight now as well, I'll have him and Sully watch us from the right. Stahl, take Miriel and watch our left. Chrom and I will take the middle again, supported by Virion. Frederick, this time I want you and Lissa to stay just behind the front so you can provide support where it is most necessary. If anyone feels that they've bit of a bit more than they can chew, just give them a shout, and they'll help you with your situation. Again, wait to engage their leader. If there's any surprise, we should all be together to deal with it. Any questions?"

As there were no objections, Robin shouted, "All right then! Onward to victory!"

They all cheered and formed up. "You're becoming quite the leader," Chrom commented.

"Nah," Robin replied. "That's definitely you're job. I'm the plan guy; you're the inspiration guy. I've never been one for public speaking anyway."

Chrom grinned at him, "You could've fooled me!"

"…Ready to go?" Robin asked, fighting back a smile.

"Yep. Let's finish this!"

And with that, they charged into the fray once more. Instead of talking with Chrom this time, Robin decided to try watching the Shepherds fight to better understand their capabilities. Robin launched a ball of lightning at the Risen, hitting his target this time. He dodged a spear attack and he electrocuted the offender. Glancing left, he watched Sully and Vaike begin to engage the Risen. Vaike swung his ax back and forth, shouting something that Robin couldn't hear, sending limbs, heads, and sometimes whole bodies flying with every stroke. He didn't seem to mind the nicks that he was gathering from barely dodged swords. Sully rode along the flank, stabbing Risen with her spear, seemingly favoring brute strength to precision, which Robin found to be a curious move for one wielding a lance. It was quite effective nonetheless, as they both began to cause disorganization in the ranks of the Risen.

"Think again!" Chrom shouted, knocking both him and Robin to the ground.

"What the -? Chrom?" Robin asked.

Chrom rolled off of Robin and blocked two ax swings, but a sword managed to slash his arm. Crying out in pain, Chrom shouted, "Dammit Robin! I need you to pay attention!"

"R – Right!" Robin responded, endeavoring not to lose focus so much again. He took a deep breath, and electrocuted all three of the offending Risen. Breathing heavily, he glanced over at Stahl and Miriel to evaluate their fight. They were doing quite well, with Stahl swinging his sword at his enemies with a balance of speed, strength, and precision. Miriel was on the back of the horse, shooting fireballs at the enemies every chance she got, usually finding her mark and disintegrating the Risen.

An icy pain shot through Robin's side, bringing him back to reality. He saw the offending Risen raise a bloody sword, ready to finish him off. Before he could fry the offender into ash with his lightning, an arrow appeared between its eyes, and it feel backwards. "Hey!" Robin complained loudly. "He was mine!"

"You must be faster if you wish to catch the prey of your choice," Virion called back with a smrik.

 _I really need to pay more attention to battle,_ Robin reflected as he dodged an ax swing and swiftly retaliated, charring the flesh around the Risen's chest. _I guess I can talk and fight, but not observe and fight. Perhaps I should watch them when I have a break in the fighting._ As this final thought occurred to Robin, he smacked himself on the forehead.

"What's wrong?" inquired Chrom as he cut down the last enemy in their area.

Robin sighed, "Nothing. Just figuring out that I can be a great fool sometimes."

Chrom chuckled, "Yeah. I get that feeling about myself far too often. Need a vulnerary?"

"A what?" Robin asked.

"Drink this," Chrom said, handing him a small brown bottle.

Robin uncorked it and drank deeply. He frowned, unable to identify the taste as it was unlike anything he had tasted before. It was neither bad nor good, and as he began to puzzle this more, he gasped. He felt the skin and muscle tissue in his side begin to knit itself back together, as if Lissa was using a staff on him. He looked at Chrom, who had taken out another one and was drinking it himself.

"That's what it does," Chrom responded.

"Ah," Robin quietly answered before grabbing Chrom by the shoulders and shaking him, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS BEFORE? Everyone should have one of these! It'll make a world of difference in our strategy! We can be less dependent on Lissa! And we won't be completely destroyed if she gets wounded!"

"O-Oh," Chrom stuttered. "I forgot you didn't know about this. Well, most soldiers carry these with them, but as this was supposed to be a diplomatic mission, I doubt any of the Shepherds would be carrying more. I forgot I had these, to be honest."

Robin groaned, "Come on, Chrom! Why wouldn't everyone carry these things? They're super - hang on! I think something's going on."

Robin had spotted Vaike suddenly charging the Cheif with Sully just behind. Chrom and Robin shared a glance, before breaking out into a run in order to provide support. While Vaike and Sully were able to handle themselves, but they appeared to be sustaining some moderate injuries as they began to move in more awkward fashions. Frederick barreled past Chrom and Robin to provide support, reaching the beast in time to aid them in killing it before either one of them sustained a serious injury.

"Why in Naga's name didn't you follow the plan, Vaike?" Lissa berated him as she waved her staff.

"Hey, the Vaike could've taken him! He was leering at me, so Teach was gonna teach him a lesson in manners." Vaike exclaimed, as the various cuts he had taken to his upper body began to seal themselves. He was sitting on the ground with Sully, as they were exhausted and sporting various cuts and bruises from their fight.

"That moron charged because he was bored waiting around for you all," Sully growled. She winced, nursing the deep gash in her shoulder while waiting for Lissa to heal it. "I can't say I blame him. It was quite the challenge to take on a larger opponent! I haven't had real fun like that in a long time!"

"You all should have listened to me," Robin stated gently. "I doubt you would have gotten so injured if you had just waited for the rest of us."

"Maybe you don't understand this yet, but true warriors live for the pain of battling a worthy opponent!" Vaike bragged, while flexing his muscles. "OW!"

Lissa hit him on the head with her staff before moving on to Sully's injury, "What if you had made a mistake? You could've ben killed!"

Sully scoffed, "That's just part of the job description. Knights must –"

"No," Robin interrupted.

Sully scowled, "Excuse me?"

"I said no." Robin yelled. "Death isn't something to be made light of, nor should one seek it out. Death may be our business, but it is our responsibility to ensure that we deal it out only if it is necessary. This includes us. Putting our lives on the line to protect the Halidom is what we do, but that doesn't justify carelessness. We must be as careful with our own lives as we are with our comrades' lives, or the lives of the citizens of Ylisse. This job isn't about glory; it's about saving lives. Never forget that."

Sully and Vaike both looked properly abashed and muttered apologies. "Don't apologize to me," responded Robin. "Apologize to Chrom. It's him you would've been failing if you died."

Robin looked up and realized that everyone was staring at him, looking quite impressed with his outburst. Robin blushed profusely, and stepped backwards, "Uh, sorry if I got a little heated. I'm not sure why I got so worked up over this. I just know I hate unnecessary deaths. If they can be avoided, they should be."

"I didn't think I've ever seen you so angry," Lissa whispered.

"That was certainly something," Sumia said.

"Remind me to never get you angry again!" Teach exclaimed.

"All right, all right everyone!" Chrom called, sounding slightly miffed. "Now that the threat has been taken care of, we should continue our journey. We have about an hour before we have to set up camp, so we should cover as much distance as we can."

As they all began walking again, Chrom came up to Robin and whispered, "Trying to steal my spotlight, eh?"

"I swear I wasn't! I was just – "

"Excuse me," Virion interrupted. "Lord Chrom, would you mind if I borrowed Robin here for a moment?"

"Um, sure?" Chrom replied.

"Excellent," Viron purred before grabbing Robin's arm and pulling him away.

"So, what do you want with me?" Robin asked

"Well," Virion began, "I'm a bit of a strategist myself. I must have learned a different style than you because I learned that if sacrifice is what it took to ensure victory, then the sacrifice should be made."

Robin was confused momentarily before realizing what he was referencing, "Oh! You're talking about what I said! Um, yeah, well I believe differently. We should fight as hard as we can to save as many lives as we can. While making sacrifices may make for a much easier victory, I believe that the sweetest victory is the one with the least number of people mourning for their loved ones."

"But what if the sacrifice is a necessary one?" Virion inquired.

"Very rarely does one have a situation where sacrifice is absolutely necessary. I believe that there is almost always another way. It's just a matter of looking hard enough to find it."

Virion simply waited in silence.

"… I suppose I didn't answer your question, did I?" Robin sighed, "Okay. If sacrifice is necessary to prevent a greater evil, or to save a larger number of lives, then I can see why you would. I believe that with the proper planning, foresight, and intelligence collection, you could avoid ever putting yourself in such a situation."

Virion smiled, "That's all I wanted to hear. And to be quite frank, dear Robin, the strength of your morals astounds me. It's not often that people in this world are so idealistic!"

Robin chuckled, "Idealism and optimism are certainly two of my most defining traits. Some prefer to call them blindness and foolishness."

Virion sighed, "Well, they are unfortunately traits that do not define me."

"…What happened, Virion? I thought you were just a flirt. Why are you so pessimistic that you define yourself as a pessimist? Because that's pretty damn pessimistic…"

Virion laughed, "Quite clever, good sir! Ah, I don't enjoy discussing it, as it is still very sensitive topic. However, in vague terms, I was once in charge of a … group. In order to achieve my end, I had to sacrifice many things, and I was quite attached to most of them. I believe that the group came out victorious, but it came at a cost far too steep for the reward gained. I believe my actions were righteous and necessary, but my conscience still grants me no respite for the suffering I had caused. It would have been much easier if I could have taken on the pain myself, but victory demanded that others were to be damned, so that was the price that I paid for the victory of the group."

Robin pursed his lips, as he couldn't deduce what he was referencing.

"In any case, I have developed quite a plethora of dishonorable skills and tactics, if you ever wish to try your hand at defeating a master of the tricks and traps you're likely to come up against in your career," Virion offered.

Robin smiled, "Thanks Virion! I'll be sure to take you up on that sometime!"

"HEY ROBIN!" Chrom called.

They both looked up to see Chrom waving his arms, gesturing empahtically.

"I better go see what that is. Until later, I guess!" Robin said.

"See you soon," Virion replied. "He might be the one…"

"Sorry, what was that?" Robin asked.

"Nothing!" Virion quickly answered. "You should probably see what's got Chrom so worried."

Nodding in assent, Robin quickly hurried to Chrom, faintly worried about what would cause the stubborn Chrom to ask for help. Upon reaching him, Robin saw him with an injured, clearly agitated pegasus.

"Um, Chrom? Why the hell did you call me?" Robin asked.

"Because the damn thing is crazed! It won't let anyone near it!" Chrom cursed.

"…What does this have to do with me?" Robin asked again. "I have no idea whether or not I'm good with animals!"

"Well, someone should do something! It's injured, and we can't just leave it here," Chrom replied.

"You could've called Frederick. He has a horse! Pegasi aren't so different."

As he said that, he remembered a specific girl who definitely liked Chrom and read a bunch of pegasus nonfiction for some reason. After a brief but intense internal debate, Robin decided that this recommendation wasn't really setting his friends up. It was just getting one friend to help another, with no ulterior motives at all.

Still not entirely convinced, he hesitated for just a moment more before saying, "You know who knows a lot about pegasi that we can ask for help? S-"

"Hello Robin, Captain. What seems to be the matter?" Sumia inquired, as if on cue.

Robin felt greatly relieved as the responsibility was taken off of his shoulders, but slightly miffed that he acted too late.

"Don't come any closer, Sumia!" Chrom exclaimed. "The beast is crazed."

Sumia gasped, and stepped back. Robin cursed internally at the direction the situation was taking, and tried to catch Sumia's eye by waving his arms.

She glanced at him, and he mouthed, "You can do this. Show him what you've got!"

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath to steady herself, and said, "It's okay, Captain. I can handle this!"

She stepped closer to the pegasus. It whinnied, throwing back its head, but she started to talk to it while continuing, "Shhh. Easy, girl. Easy. It's okay. I won't hurt you."

Before Robin knew it, she was petting its snout and it was completely calm and serene.

"That's incredible, Sumia! I've never seen anything like it!" Chrom said.

"Oh, it's nothing. Really. I just have a way with animals, I guess!" Sumia replied, blushing at the compliment.

"No kidding!"

"Captain, you all should go on ahead. I'll dress her wounds, and we'll catch up as soon as we can."

"No! We can make some time to wait for you. It'll be alright."

"I appreciate it, Captain, but every moment is precious when Ylisse is in danger. You would do well to leave me behind for the time being."

Chrom looked pained, but he consented, "If you believe this is best, I'll follow your judgment. Just … be safe, Sumia."

A sly smile played on her lips, "As you command, sir."

He smiled, and turned back toward the main group. As he walked out of earshot, Sumia then turned to Robin, "Thanks for believing in me! Very few people have done that before."

Robin chuckled, "While belief in yourself is very important, a little help from someone else can go a long way."

Sumia laughed, "Well, I guess I'll see you in a little bit then."

Robin turned to leave, and then paused, "Sumia, you remember what we were talking about earlier?"

Sumia frowned, trying to remember, "Something about my training?"

Robin looked over his shoulder and smiled, "I'm glad you still carry that lance around. I was going to suggest trying to be a pegasus knight, as they tend to be lightly armored. I know that it's considered one of the more difficult fighting disciplines, but fate seems to be agreeming with me."

Sumia's eyes widened at the thought, but then she began to smile, "Thanks again for your help and encouragement, Robin."

Robin grinned, "You can thank me by returning to us safely. We can't have our commander all weepy and depressed because his crush didn't come back in a timely fashion!"

Laughing as she blushed profusely, he said, "Take care, Sumia."

"Take care yourself!" She replied, smiling.

He turned away, rejoining the main group of Shepherds. He approached Chrom, "Ready?"

"Ready," Chrom replied. "Shepherds! Move out!"

They all began to march again, but Robin noticed that everyone's behavior was much more subdued this time. When he looked in their eyes, he saw the same fear and uncertainty he felt reflected. After a few minutes of this fearful, grim marching, Robin could no longer stand seeing his friends feeling so down. Fortunately, the best idea he could come up with would be quite enjoyable to him: tease Chrom.

"Hey Lissa," Robin began.

"Hm?" she replied.

"Got any embarrassing Chrom stories that I should know? I'm getting kinda bored just marching …"

The entire company giggled and turned to Chrom as he flushed a deep red. "Why would you ask such a thing?" he exploded.

"Oh, what's a good one …" Lissa mused, grinning at Chrom's embarrassment.

"Hey! Don't you feel any loyalty to me? We're family, for Naga's sake!"

"But I'm also you're younger sibling! Doesn't that make it my job to embarrass you to all your friends?"

Robin sighed in relief as the Shepherds began to talk amongst each other once again, much more cheerfully this time. He didn't mind that he didn't get a blackmail story, as he had a distinct suspicion that he and Chrom would have their share of adventures both in peace and at war. Regardless, he allowed himself a smile, happy that his new friends were able to look past their worry and get back to being themselves. _Sumia would hate it if they were all moping around just because of her anyway. I'm sure she would be glad that they cared so much, but still._

"Don't think I didn't see what you did there," a voice proclaimed at Robin's shoulder.

Turning, he saw Chrom, "What? What did I do?"

"You saw that they were down, and you took it upon yourself to try and help them through it," Chrom claimed. "I'm impressed!"

Robin grinned, "Caught me! Sorry for putting you on the spot like that, by the way. I figured if anyone was going to understand, it would have been you."

"Also, thanks for cheering me up! I was just so worried about – " Chrom quickly stopped what he was saying.

"Sumia?" Robin finished for him.

"What? Sumia? Come on! You can make better idle gossip than that! I was going to say … Ylisse! Just worried about how Emm is faring without us."

"You went too far in your denial. It would have been more believable if you had said that you were worried. After all, it's common knowledge that you care about all of your Shepherds quite a lot."

"Dammit! You're ri – I mean, um, you know what I mean! Right? I just wanted to be strong and everything. You know, all leader-y and such. Forgot that I was talking to the biggest genius in the Shepherds, that's all. You figured out my game in two seconds flat, right?"

Chrom laughed nervously, and Robin frowned, "Chrom, you're not making any sense. Start from the beginning."

"I'm just saying I didn't want to show any weakness, but I forgot that you tend to see right through that stuff. I am worried about Sumia, but it's not what you're implying! I swear!"

Robin grinned and shook his head in disbelief, "Just what do you think I'm implying?"

"You know," Chrom whispered, with a blush slowly creeping up his neck, "You're saying that I – like – Sumia."

"… Of course I am Chrom! I like Sumia! Lissa likes Sumia! Sully likes Sumia! I'm pretty sure it's impossible to NOT like Sumia!"

Chrom groaned, "You know what I mean! 'Like-like' her."

Doing his best to fight his smile, Robin decided to have a little fun with Chrom, "Woah! I didn't imply anything like that! If I didn't know better …"

Chrom blushed at the implication, "What? If you didn't know better, then what?"

"Then we'd be dead at Southtown! My strategy would have failed, and we would have been slaughtered by bandits! Not such a heroic end for us…"

"Stop tormenting me like this Robin!" Chrom growled.

Robin sighed, and decided to let his friend off the hook, "As far as I'm concerned, nothing beyond friendly camaraderie exists between you and Sumia until you're ready to tell me otherwise. At least, for now. I do reserve the right, as your new friend and tactician, to torment and embarrass you when I get bored."

Chrom groaned, but Robin continued, "And by the way, you made a pretty good choice. You could've done a lot worse. When you want to talk about it, because you will, just let me know. Of course I'll tease you about it periodically, but if you want to talk about it seriously I'll stop. At least for the moment."

"Thanks Robin," Chrom sighed in relief. "If it ever comes to that, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer."

Robin quickly got lost in conversation with Chrom, so it felt like just a few minutes had passed when the sky began to darken. "We should make camp," Chrom muttered. "HEY EVERYONE! We can stop now! Let's make camp here!"

In the blink of an eye, the food for the army was cooked and the tents were all set up in a neat circle. There was even a guard duty rotation of Shepherds created by Frederick since no major force accompanied them. Dinner passed by in a blur, but the feeling of belonging that Robin had since meeting Chrom intensified tenfold with the addition of so many new friends who seemed to be accepting him. Robin was just content to bask in its warm glow. As everyone began to go back to their tents, Robin walked to the edge of the camp, planning on wrapping himself up in the cloak and sleeping again. However, he wasn't looking forward to it, as they had come far enough north that there was a distinct chill carried by the wind. While it would be bearable, it certainly would be quite uncomfortable and most likely leave him wet in the morning, covered by dew.

As he lay down and closed his eyes, a voice cried out, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

He looked up at Lissa, "Um, going to sleep?"

"Out here?" Lissa giggled.

"Um, yeah?" Robin responded, confused about the situation. "I don't really have a tent, or anything for that matter."

"You forgot that we bought you stuff, didn't you?" Lissa guessed.

Robin opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, unable to form words, confirming that he had.

"Come on!" Lissa laughed. "Your tent is this way!"

Robin followed her to the middle of camp. "Ta-da!" She exclaimed.

She was gesturing to a moderately large tent, just beside the royal one. Robin scratched his head, "Why are you showing me Frederick's tent? Is my stuff inside it?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, goofball! This is your tent! Because you're our tactician, you've got some priority."

Robin's eyes widened as he realized the position of importance he was being given. Speechless, Lissa led him into the tent. He spied a cot in the center, but there was quite a lot of extra space inside.

"There was a desk and a chest among other things," Lissa explained before he could ask. "We decided to leave them since you can carry everything you have. That other stuff is back at the castle, ready for you if we actually get fully mobilized to perform a long task somewhere. There's also a room ready for you at the castle that we were going to surprise you with last night, but you didn't come back. I guess we'll show it to you when we're done with this mission!"

Lissa was shocked to see tears welling up in Robin's eyes. "You guys really didn't need to do this," Robin said, with his voice quivering. "How much did this cost you?"

"Well, we do have a royal treasury at our disposal," Lissa said. "It wasn't that much! It's not the best, but we wanted to do something nice for our tactician."

"But I haven't done anything yet!" Robin exclaimed. "You guys keep forgetting that I have barely proven my worth!"

"If you don't want to burden us, I suppose we could just take it out of your salary," Lissa joked.

"Please do!" Robin begged. "It would make me feel a lot better! I don't deserve this …"

Lissa rolled her eyes, "Come on, man! Get a hold of yourself! You saved Ylissean lives twice, and you are currently on a mission to do it again! Even if you don't want it, we're entitled to show you a little gratitude!"

Robin wiped his eyes, "Gah! I'm – I'm sorry. It's just, I don't want to let you all down. You all have so much faith in me already, much more than I have in myself. You've literally just given me more stuff than I can remember owning."

Lissa smiled gently at him, "I know what it's like to go around, not sure if you can live up to what you want to be. It's a burden that we carry, and it does make us stronger, but in excess it can be an unnecessary one. I've seen the incredible things you've done already, and I'm sure we've just barely scratched the surface."

Robin gave a soft chuckle, "You know, I just have Sumia this same advice earlier today. It seems I should listen to what I say more closely!"

"We all have our blind spots, but our friends help us see what we can't. That's what they're for anyway, right?"

Robin grinned, "Thanks again, Lissa. You give really good advice!"

"You should tell Chrom that!" Lissa huffed irritably.

Robin laughed, "Good night, Lissa!"

"Night, Robin!" Lissa responded before leaving him alone in his tent.

Robin frowned at the cot, not quite remembering how it worked. _Do I put my head or my feet on the pillow? The whole thing is quite soft … I think I'm supposed to keep my feet elevated for some reason? There's no way I'm gonna ask anyone for help about this … feet it is then!_

Resting his feet on the pillow, he laid down and marveled at how soft the cot was. It was even better than the couch! He worried about how much the royal family spent on him again. _I highly doubt they're bankrupting Ylisse for me, but I can't help but feel as if I'm cheating them. Do I even belong here in the Shepherds? It would feel so nice to be a part of something like this, but I don't even know who I am! Lissa told me to believe in myself, but how can I do that if I don't even know who I am? … Gah! This is all so frustrating!_

Robin felt fear and guilt begin to intrude on the happiness he felt at dinner. Gritting his teeth, he tried to rationalize his feelings about his past. _Sure there's a chance that I'm evil, but there's just as much chance that I'm not! Besides, the chances that I'm either exceptionally good or evil are low either way! Chances are that I'm average! Although the specialization elements seem to suggest otherwise … Naga, I just want to know who I was! Without my past, how can I determine my fate?_

Robin groaned at the lack of answers that Naga was giving him. _I guess I'll just be a man without a past then. At least I'll be able to forge my own fate!_ Finally, after subduing his fears for the time being, and calming his mind, he began to fall asleep.


End file.
